Origin of a Hero
by RWBYfan4life
Summary: The path to becoming a Huntsmen or Huntresses isn't how we pictured it. It involves 6 years of intense training before one becomes 16 years of age. Join the beloved characters of Team RWBY on their journey to becoming the greatest Huntresses in the world.
1. Vol 1 Chapter 1

Origin of a Hero

Chapter 1

**Note:** Here's a new story that I've been thinking of doing while I was writing Who Are We Anyway? I hope you enjoy! Please leave some comments/questions/suggestions/etc.

The world is experiencing an incredible time of peace. Huntsmen and Huntresses are on the rise and the creatures of Grimm are on a decline. The world efforts have decided to train their future saviors as early as 10 years of age. The age of eligibility is at 16. Throughout their 6 years of training, this is how their training if broken down. Their first year involves the study of Huntsmen and Huntresses. The second year focuses on the creatures of Grimm. The third year teaches about the importance of teams as Huntsmen and Huntresses. The fourth year is when students, who have successfully passed each course, build their own weapon. The fifth year teaches them how to fight and use their weapon. The sixth year is the Test of Eligibility. If a student can withstand this training procedure, they will be considered acceptance to the greatest school for Huntsmen and Huntresses: Beacon Academy.

Ruby Rose has turned 10 and has declared that she wants to be a Huntress. Her mother, Sapphire Rose, was one of the most famous Huntresses in the world and supported her daughter in this decision. The morning started out with Ruby Rose jumping on top of her mother still in bed and shouting,

"Come on mommy. Let's go." Her mother was still asleep when Ruby came in her room. "Mommy, wake up." Ruby fell to her knees and straddled her mother. She shook her mother until she was finally awoken.

"Alright, calm down. I'm up."

"Hurry up. I wanna be the first one there."

"Alright, alright." Her mother got out of bed and watched Ruby as she was bouncing off the walls. As she ran passed her, she grabbed her by the shoulders. "Ruby, I know you're excited, but don't get your hopes up too high. A lot of people ask to have their kids accepted into the program, but not all of them get in."

"I know. It's just that I've been waiting for this day my whole life."

"Ruby?"

"Yes?"

"Happy birthday." Ruby smiled and hugged her mother. Ruby broke from the hug and kissed her on the cheek.

"I love you."

"I love you too." Ruby ran out of the room as fast as she could and her mother watched her as she left. She sighed and under her breath, she asked herself if they would actually take Ruby. After a couple of minutes, the thought left her mind and she got ready. When she walked into the kitchen, she saw Ruby finishing up her breakfast. She couldn't help but smile while she watched Ruby eat her food. Her last spoonful entered her mouth and she grabbed her backpack.

"Okay mommy, let's go." They got in the car and headed for the office of Huntsmen Efforts.

During the car ride, Ruby was constantly looking out the window. Everything seemed to catch her attention. Unfortunately for Ruby, it seemed like the trip lasted forever. When they arrived at the office, Ruby jumped out of the car and headed towards the door.

"Ruby. Wait for me." Her hand reached for the door, but was stopped before she could open it. "Ruby, we're already here. The least you could do is wait."

"I'm sorry." Her mom rubbed Ruby's head and they walked in. To Ruby, the front desk was quite tall so she couldn't see over it.

"Hello, I'm here to register my daugther."

"How old is she?"

"She's 10."

"Alright, can I see her paperwork?" Sapphire handed her the paper and she started to inspect it. She looked down to see Ruby looking back at her with wide eyes. "Alright, everything seems to be in order. Something I feel that I need to say: The Office of Huntsmen Efforts and recently started to an entrance exam. What we require the applicants to do is take a test to analyze their abilities. This test will determine if your child is ready for this process. Would she be willing to take it now?" She looked down at Ruby. Her face had a smile on and she was hopping up and down.

"I guess she is." The lady at the desk stood up.

"Alright Ruby, if you would please follow me." Ruby looked at her mom again for approval and she gestured to go ahead. She hugged Sapphire and ran to catch up with the lady. The lady led her into a small room. Ruby took a seat at a table where the test was waiting for her.

"Is this it?"

"Yep. Now, feel free to take your time. This is an important part of the selection process. From this, we can determine what class you belong with and how hard we can push you." Ruby didn't really understand what all of this was.

"What happens if I don't do good?" She walked over to Ruby and put her hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry. You seem like a bright girl. This shouldn't be a problem for you. If you need anything, don't be afraid to ask. I'll be right outside."

"Okay." The lady smiled and then left the room. Ruby was now alone with the test. She opened the booklet and right from the start, nothing caught her off guard. All those years of asking her mother about being a Huntress really paid off. The questions ranged from Huntsmen history and importance to the etymology of the creatures of Grimm. All of these questions were very simple for her. Nothing really stumped her. When she reached the team portion of the test, Ruby was starting to struggle. She bothered to ask her mother's team. All this time, she thought her mother was a solo Huntress. It wasn't pretty, but she made it through that part of the test. Next, was the weapon and combat portion. This was impossible for her. Her mother was wise to not show Ruby her weapon. She didn't want a child running around with a dangerous weapon. So like any other test, she tried her best to answer all of the questions. After about 30 minutes, Ruby walked out with the test in hand.

"Wow," the lady said while looking at her watch. "That's got to be a record. I'll take that. If you and your mom stay here for a bit longer, we'll give you the results shortly. She right outside." She pointed to the door and Ruby ran for it. As she opened the door, the light from the sun blinded her vision for a second, but when it cleared, she saw her mother waiting for her with arms wide open. She jumped into them and squeezed tightly.

"So how'd it go sweety?"

"I don't like tests mommy."

"I know. I don't like them either, but we all have to take them. So how'd you think you did?"

"I don't know. The beginning was a piece of cake, but near the end, I was clueless. All that stuff I read, you could have told me about."

"Ruby, there are things in the world that you're just not ready for. I have my reasons for hiding things like that. Okay, don't be mad at me. I was only doing my job."

"I think it was just hard because you weren't with me."

"Don't worry honey, I'll always be with you." Ruby squeezed even tighter, still not letting go her mother. Sapphire looked up and saw the lady walking towards them. "Ruby, look."

"Alright, if you two would please follow me, we'll talk about Ruby." The woman turned around and headed to an empty room. Ruby was still hugging her mother so Sapphire picked her up in her arms and walked to the room. When they got there, the lady closed the door behind them and Ruby finally let go. "Okay, so we reviewed her test and we are very impressed. The things she knows is what we expect out of our 3rd years students. It's almost unreal. Did you have anything to do with it?" She eyed Sapphire.

"Well, yes. She was persistent and interested that I couldn't shun her away."

"Well, I can tell that you're a good teacher because there were limits on her knowledge. Everything she struggled in is what we teach in years 3-5 so there's no concern. We sent her scores to our main office and our board of directors is prepared to offer you this: They will fully fund your daughter and she will be able to enter this program at Year 3."

"Really?" Sapphire was caught off guard. "This is so sudden."

"If you need time to think about this, it's completely fine. One thing I should say though is that once Ruby enters this program at Year 3, she will no longer be able to see you. I hope that doesn't influence your decision. I'll give you two a couple of minutes." The lady walked out silently and Ruby looked at her mother in concern.

"What does she mean I won't be able to see you anymore?"

"Well, part of this program involves complete focus from its students and they can't have the outside distraction of family."

"Huh?"

"Ruby, this will be the last time we see each other for awhile."

"No, I'm not going. I need to be with you."

"Ruby, didn't you hear her? The head people of this program are willing to sponsor you. That is an opportunity you don't see very often."

"What does that mean?" Ruby was starting to tear up.

"It means that you're special, Ruby. They see something about you that could change this world. Please don't make me the reason you don't fulfill your dreams. I don't want you to leave, but I don't want you to be sad."

"But I love you mommy."

"I love you too Ruby." Sapphire shut her eyes for the tears were finally starting to show. She had to stay strong. Ruby needed her and she couldn't be weak in front of her.

"So do you want me to go?" Sapphire wiped a tear from her eye.

"I want you to do whatever you think is best for you." There was a pause in the room. Everything was silent.

"I want to go."

"Okay. That's your choice." The door cracked open.

"Sorry to bother you, but have you made your decision?"

"I'll do it," Ruby said as she was sniffling.

"Great. Our next transport will be tomorrow at 9 in the morning. All she needs to pack are the necessities listed in the handout from earlier. Congratulations Ruby, I wish you good luck." She stuck out her hand and Ruby shook it shyly.

The car ride back home was very silent. Ruby slumped back into her chair and Sapphire didn't lay an eye on her. When they got home, they silently walked into the house and Ruby went to her room to pack. Sapphire watched her as filled her suitcase and this decision definitely changed her. Minutes went by and Ruby finally zipped up her bag.

"It's late isn't it? I think I'm gonna go to bed. Can you sleep with me tonight mommy?"

"Of course honey." She turned off the lights and slipped into bed next to Ruby. Ruby couldn't help but cry as her mom laid down next to her. "Please don't cry. Everything's going to be alright Ruby. The more you do this, the harder it will be to leave."

"I know, but I've never been separated from you before."

"It's all a part of growing up Ruby. This day was bound to happen. You just need to stay strong. Just think, one day I'll be too old to fend for myself and you'll be there to save the day. You remember my saying?" Ruby nodded while still crying. "You wanna say it?"

"That's why we're here, to make it better."

"That's my girl." Sapphire hugged her once more and the two eventually slept the night away. Throughout the night, she had the desire for the night to last forever. She still didn't want Ruby to leave, but she could never say it out loud. She was growing up and there was nothing that could stop that.

End of Chapter 1


	2. Vol 1 Chapter 2

Origin of a Hero

Chapter 2

Morning finally came around, but Sapphire was the first to wake. She looked at Ruby who looked so peaceful. Her mouth was slightly opened and her hands were held close to her face. Sapphire brushed the hair out of her face and kissed her on the forehead. The touch of her mother's lips finally made Ruby open her eyes. The light from the sun forced Ruby to cower and rub her eyes.

"Morning sweety."

"Good morning. Are you okay?"

"Of course. Today's the big day. Are you ready?" She was afraid of the answer Ruby would give her. It seemed too early to worry her.

"Yeah, I think I just needed sleep to think about all of this."

"I'm glad to hear that. Well, get ready and grab your stuff. We don't want to be late on your big day."

"Nope." Ruby's face lit up and she jumped out of bed. Sapphire sat up from Ruby's bed and remained motionless. In her head, she was perplexed. Ruby's handling this very well. Why can't I? I just don't want to see my little girl go. She looked up and saw Ruby run back with her hair wet from the shower.

"Mommy, hurry up! I'm almost done."

"Sorry honey. Don't worry about me. I'll be waiting for you downstairs." Sapphire walked over to Ruby and kissed her on the cheek. Ruby couldn't but laugh. Whenever her mother did that, it always gave Ruby a good feeling. Sapphire walked back to her room and got ready. In the shower, she dropped her head and continued to think about what was going to happen. She raised Ruby with everything she needs to know, yet she still worried that something bad will happen. Although this conflict was occurring, she had to remember that this was all part of growing up. She was just sad that it had to come so early. If only Ruby wanted to be a normal kid, she wouldn't have to worry about it for another 8 years.

"Mommy! Come on. We're going to be late." Her eyes shot open. She didn't realize that she was taking her time. She quickly turned off the shower and grabbed her clothes. After a couple of minutes, she ran out of her room and towards the door.

"Alright, let's go." They ran to the car and drove off the drop off point. Ruby was anxious. She couldn't sit still and everything she saw, she just had to comment on. Sapphire, on the other hand, remained silent. She occasionally looked over at Ruby, but tried not to make it hard on herself. After such a short time, they arrived at the transport station. Ruby quickly jumped out of the car and grabbed her things. Sapphire was still in the car when she saw Ruby attempt to leave. She got out and yelled to her.

"Ruby, wait! Come here." Ruby turned to walk back to her mom.

"What is it mommy?" She grabbed Ruby by the shoulders and gave her one last look. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

"Ruby, I'm so proud of you. You definitely proved yourself the best of the best. All I want from you now is dedication. I want you to show everyone what you're made of. Don't let anybody tell you otherwise. After all, you did have a great teacher." She smiled and started to tear up. She looked down and took another deep breath. "One more thing I need you to do. Don't come back. Pursue your dreams and keep moving forward." Ruby was confused.

"What do you mean?" Ruby put her hand on Sapphire's cheek. "Mommy, I can't do that."

"Yes you can. You are strong. Show the world who you are. You don't need me anymore."

"But..."

"Excuse me, Ms. Rose, it's time."

"Okay." She reached in her pocket and took out something Ruby didn't recognize. She put it in her hands and closed them.

"What's this?"

"Find a place for this. I don't need it anymore. Go on." Ruby looked at her hand without revealing the item and started to cry. She opened her arms and leapt towards Sapphire. She squeezed her as tight as she could. "I love you Ruby."

"I love you too." The tears were definitely intruding on Sapphire. She took a deep breath and pulled away.

"Alright, go and change the world."

"I will." She turned to see an administrator waiting for her. Her hand was stuck out and Ruby grabbed it. She lead Ruby onto the transport ship and it took off immediately. From the ground, Sapphire saw Ruby take a seat next to the window and waved to her. With tears running down her face, she waved back. The ship flew away and the loading dock started to disappear. Ruby turned back around and faced forward. She opened her hands and saw that it was rose insignia.

"What's that?" She turned to see who asked her that. It was a mysterious-looking boy.

"It's a rose. My mom gave it to me. She said to find a place for it."

"What about on your belt?"

"My belt?"

"Yeah. A belt is known for symbolizing your strength and ability." Ruby looked down and decided to hang it on her belt. After she hoisted it on, she smiled. "See? It looks great. I'm Ren, by the way. Lie Ren."

"Ruby. Ruby Rose."

"Nice to meet you."

"You too. So what are you doing here?"

"I'm being transferred to another institution. They said I didn't fit in where I was. I didn't really understand what they meant by that, but I couldn't argue. What about you?"

"Well, this is my first year."

"Really? That's weird because I'm being transferred to a different 3rd year class."

"That's where I'm going too." His face was blank. He didn't know what to say. How did this girl skip the first two years of the program? I couldn't even do that.

"Well congratulations. You must have been well prepared for the entrance test."

"Eh. More or less." Ruby smiled and he couldn't but laugh. The conversation stopped there. The two remained silent until they reached the school. Near the end, the pilot suggested to the passengers to look out and see where they were headed. Ruby looked out the window and saw a beautiful school with large buildings and open fields. She had never seen anything like it before. The ship docked and they quickly exited. They ran out to the railing of the docking bay and looked down to see 3 others layers of land below them.

"Those are our other departments. If you two can successfully pass your third year, you'll be moving on to that building. Until that time, if you would follow me." The administrator guided them through the school and to a classroom. "Wait out here until you're called in." She walked into the classroom to tell the instructor that there were new students.

"Excuse me class, but we have some new students I'd like to welcome here. Ren, could you come in please?" Ren looked at Ruby and she smiled at him. He smiled back and walked in. "Would you like to introduce yourself to the class?"

"I'm Lie Ren." The teacher couldn't help but laugh.

"Would you like to say anything special about yourself?"

"Oh, um, I was just transferred from another institution to here." The class started to whisper to each other.

"Alright, you can have a seat next to...ah, Nora, near the back. Nora, could you make yourself noticeable?"

"I'm Nora!" Her hand shot up towards the sky and she stood up from her desk. Ren quietly walked to his desk and sat down. "Hi, I'm Nora. Nora Valkyrie. I guess you must be special to be transferred here."

"Thanks, but I think you'll be surprised by the next girl."

"Huh?"

"It turns out that we have one more new student. Ruby, come in and introduce yourself to the class." Ruby walked in shyly and kept her eyes to the floor.

"Hello, my name is Ruby Rose. Um, this is actually my first year so I don't really know what to say." The class was flipped upside-down. The conversations grew to shouts and uneasiness amongst the students.

"What was your test score?!"

"How old are you?!"

"Why are you?!"

"Class, that's enough! I'm sorry, Ruby. You can have the seat next to Yang. Yang, would you mind?" She stood up and Ruby focused on her.

"Yang? Is that you?"

"Hey Ruby, long time no see."

"I didn't even recognize you. You grew out your hair." Yang grabbed her hair.

"Yeah, I decided to give it a try and it apparently worked out."

"Alright, a family reunion is great and all, but we need to continue class. Ruby, if you don't mind, can you take your seat now?"

"Oh, sorry." She skipped to her desk and readied herself to learn. Oblivious to her surroundings, a girl in the front had her eyed glued to Ruby and gave her a dirty look before turning back around.

"Wow, you were right about her. How'd you know?"

"I was with her on the way to this school."

"Well, you have two friends now."

"That doesn't seem fair. I did have friends at the other school I was at."

"Oh yeah, right. Two plus however many you knew." Nora smiled and Ren shook his head. Why did I have to sit next to this girl. As class continued, Ruby had her eyes constantly switching between her notebook and the chalkboard. Since this was the team class, Ruby didn't much about it and paid very close attention.

"This was when Huntsmen realized the importance of the team system." Ruby raised her hand.

"If Huntsmen and Huntresses are supposed to be the strongest beings on Earth, why do they need other people with them? Individual strength can withstand every test." Everyone in class turned to look at Ruby.

"That is a strong belief, but that's not true. We all know about evolution, right? Well, after the first 5 years of the Grimm discovery, they eventually learned that the power of one Huntsmen could not defeat the forces of evil."

"So ever since then, no one person has been able to kill a Grimm?"

"Ruby, you seem like a bright girl. Times have changed and the creatures of Grimm now travel in packs. Never will we ever see a beast by themselves and never we will take a creature head on. Now that I think about it, I'm glad you mentioned this. This is what this class is all about. Anyway..." Ruby tracked herself away from the teacher's discussion and into her thoughts. She was wondering why her mother kept this from her. After a while, the bell rang and the class was excused to lunch. Ruby walked out quietly and Yang came behind her.

"Hey Ruby, you wanna have lunch with me? We need to catch up."

"Alright." She walked with Yang when a hand grabbed her by the shoulder and pulled her away. Ruby was shoved to the wall and saw who it was. She was a beautiful girl with white hair. "Hey?"

"No, you listen up. I'm the class president and I'm going to tell you the truth. You don't belong here and none of us want you here. I don't know why you're here, but you should just go home. I don't want to see you here again." The girl let go of Ruby's shoulder very roughly and walked off. Ruby watched the girl walk off and she fell to the floor.

"Ruby? Are you okay?"

"Is she right? Do I not belong here?"

"Of course you do. It's just about what you said. I really think she's jealous of you."

"What do you mean?"

"Her name's Weiss Schnee. She's part of a very well-known family that contributed to the discovery of Dust. Hearing you skip the first two years of this program probably made her feel inferior."

"Well, I didn't mean to."

"I know you didn't. Come on." Yang stuck out her hand and picked her up from the ground. Yang lead Ruby to the cafeteria and tried her hardest to enjoy her lunch. Before she sat down, she saw the girl who she encountered sitting with a couple of her friends. Her face was glowing and she was having a good time.

"Wow, she looks like a different person now."

"Ruby, try not to let her affect you too much."

"Okay." She sat down and looked at her food. It took her awhile to finally pick up her fork and eat her food. After a while, she finished her food and an administrator interrupted her lunch.

"Excuse me, Ruby, would you come with me please?"

"Is something wrong?"

"No, just come with me please?" Ruby grabbed her food and dumped it in the trash. She walked out of the cafeteria and followed the administrator to the main office. She instructed Ruby to go in. She hesitantly opened the door and walked in.

"Good afternoon Ruby, I'm Professor Oobleck and I'm the leader of this school. I understand that you've just recently came to this school." She nodded. She was too afraid to say anything. "Also, it appears that you don't have a room to stay in. Is that correct?" She nodded again. He moved his eyes over to his computer and looked for an open room for her. It took him awhile, but he eventually found one. He wrote down the number of the room and handed it to Ruby. "So here's your room. Head over to the housing courtyard and make yourself at home." He stood up and stuck out his hand. Ruby grasped it and shook his hand. After that, she walked out without another word and went to find the housing courtyard. As she walked through the campus, she looked to the horizon and saw the sun set. The sight of the waning sun brought her joy.

After a few minutes, she finally found the housing buildings and tried to find her room. On the paper, it read room 202. She walked into the building and read the directory. Room 202 was on the second floor. No one was in the lobby so she decided to walk to her room. When she reached her room, she pressed her ear against the door to hear if anyone was in there. She couldn't hear anything so she knocked on the door. The door knob turned and a girl opened the door.

"Uh, hi, my name is Ruby and I guess I'm your roommate."

"Hi, I'm Blake. Come on in." she slowly walked into the room and was surprised that it was so clean. The room was organized and all of the book shelves were filled with books.

"Are all these yours?"

"Yeah, I hope you don't mind. I love books." Ruby's face lit up.

"I love books too." Blake smiled and climbed onto her bed. She opened her book and continued to read. Ruby looked around for anything else that caught her attention, but other than that, it was pretty ordinary. She grabbed her clothes and changed into her pajamas. "I think I'm going to go to bed."

"Alright, good night." Ruby climbed into bed and tried to fall asleep. After a couple of minutes, Blake turned off the lights and went to sleep. Ruby tossed and turned and couldn't fall asleep. She turned to face Blake who was already asleep. She looked so peaceful, but Ruby was on edge. She tried to think of her mother. Her lush black hair and her warm red cloak started to comfort her on her first night away. When her mind was finally at ease, she whispered to herself.

"I miss you mommy."

End of Chapter 2


	3. Vol 1 Chapter 3

Origin of a Hero

Chapter 3

Beep...beep...beep. The room clock blared out and the two girls woke up. Blake quickly got out of bed and walked to the window. She opened the curtains and took in the sun. However, Ruby was a little slow waking up, but the morning sun hit her hard in the face. Blake put on her clothes, brushed her teeth, and walked out. She closed the door behind her while Ruby was still in bed.

"Bye." Ruby slowly got out of bed and got ready. She opened the door and Yang jumped out in front of her.

"Hey Ruby!" Ruby lost her footing and plopped on her butt. "Sorry, was that too scary?"

"Um, kind of. I did just wake up. How'd you know this was my room?"

"My room's across the ways. You wanna head to class?"

"Sure." Ruby shut the door and walked with Yang. On the way to class, Yang was showing Ruby something she had recently built.

"See. It's a really small thing, but it packs a punch. I'm so proud of this."

"Wow, that's cool. How'd you..." Ruby was knocked to the ground.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry. I didn't... You." Ruby's eyes shot open. It was Weiss. "Why can't you watch where you're going, you dunce?" Ruby was stunned. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Weiss actually believed it was Ruby's fault. Ruby was actually walking straight and looking ahead of her when Weiss stuck out her back and Ruby was caught off guard.

"Look, I know you don't like me, but I think you should be nicer. First of all, it wasn't even my fault. You backed up in front of me without looking."

"Wow, you've got some nerve. You think I'm the one at fault here."

"Of course. I was doing my job as a pedestrian. You just can't see when..." Yang cut in between them.

"Alright, that's enough. I think it's time when we all headed to class. Am I right?"

"No, we are settling this." Yang looked at Ruby and tightened her fist.

"Alright then." Yang picked up Weiss and carried her on her shoulder. "You need to settle down Weiss. The day just started. Let's take it easy."

"What are you doing? Are you crazy? Let me down this instant!"

"Hey Ruby, I'll meet you in class." Ruby stuck out her arm, but clenched her hand as Yang disappeared from sight. She dropped her head and walked to class. It was just her second day and there was already someone who hated her. Was it really her fault? She didn't feel like it was.

"Ruby, what are you doing here?"

"Blake? I'm heading to class, you wanna come?"

"I'm sorry, but I'm not in your class. I'm in 3-B."

"Doesn't that mean that's the 'other' class?"

"Yeah, so?" Ruby knew she went too far. She said farewell to Blake and walked to class. When she got there, Weiss and Yang were sitting in their seats without a word in thought. Ruby awkwardly walked to her seat without saying anything. When class began, their teacher gave them a new lecture on teamwork, but Ruby didn't show much enthusiasm this time. Her mind was too busy thinking about why Weiss hated her so much. At this point, her plan to not be a problem wasn't going so well. Class started with a very interesting discussion.

"Alright class, we'll be starting a new section of this class. As you all know, this year, you're studying the importance of teamwork and how it affects you as a Huntsman of Huntress. So you guys are going to team up into mock teams and you'll compete in a class competition to see who's the best." The class started to whisper to each others.

"What?! Why?!"

"To teach you guys how to handle different situations with different kinds of people." Everybody looked around in confusion. Ruby, especially on edge. She looked over at Weiss who was looking around for a suitable group of people. Not once did her eyes reach Ruby.

"Can we start," Weiss asked.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to mention. I already have a list of teams we'll try out." Weiss' eyes shot open and her mouth dropped to the floor.

"But...but..."

"Alright, here are the teams. Since this class is small, there will be 3 teams of 4. Team 1 will be Ruby, Nora, Ren, and Pyrrha. Team 2 will be Weiss, Yang, Sun, and Adam. Team 3 will be Cardin, Russell, Velvet, and Mercury. Now, that is all that I have planned for today so go ahead and meet with your teammates. You're first assignment to come up with a presentation on what truly makes a team a team. You will all present tomorrow morning." Their teacher left the room and everyone met with each other. Each group took a corner of the room and prepared for their presentation.

"Um, I don't know you two. I'm Ruby."

"I'm Pyrrha."

"I'm Nora. And this is Ren."

"Nora, I'm pretty sure I could have introduced myself."

"I know."

"So what do you guys think we should talk about?"

"Well before we do, does everyone understand everything the teachers been talking about?" Everyone nodded except for Ruby. She tried not to be noticed as to not slow down her group. Pyrrha saw Ruby and asked her what she didn't understand. Ruby told her that she found it hard that Huntsmen and Huntresses rely on a team to be successful. They didn't single her out. They were simply surprised that she still believed in the true power of a Huntsmen.

"Ruby, what are your weaknesses?"

"Huh?"

"What's something you feel that you're not strong with?" Ren was surprised. He's never seen Nora this serious before.

"Um, the topic of teamwork." They all laughed.

"Okay, what are your strengths?"

"Oh, uh, the history of Huntsmen and Huntresses."

"Alright, there's a start. If you didn't know, I suck at history, but I'm starting to grasp this concept we're learning right now. Ren, anything you wanna share?"

"I'm good the Grimm topics."

"Pyrrha?"

"So far, nothing seems to be stumping me."

"Do you get it now?" Ruby still had a blank look on her face. "You're not good with teamwork. I suck at history. Ren's got some weakness we aren't aware of and to top it all off, Pyrrha can cover up what we can't fill in. That's what makes us a team. We are there for each other. Get it?"

"Yeah." Ruby chuckled as Nora slapped her shoulder.

"That was really good Nora."

"Thanks Ren."

"Well, I think we know what we're going to talk about tomorrow." Everyone nodded. "Let's not work too hard on this so let's all try to get a good night sleep."

"Okay, see you all tomorrow." They parted and headed to their rooms. As Ruby walked to her room, she met Blake walking out of her classroom and decided to walk with her. "Hey Blake, how was class?"

"It was alright. Nothing too exciting to share. What about you?"

"It was pretty difficult. We were put into teams and we have to discuss te things that make a good team."

"Oh, that sounds interesting. So where did your problems kick in?"

"Nowhere really, it's just that I can't grasp the idea that Huntsmen and Huntresses need a team to be successful. I was raised believing that Huntsmen and Huntresses were the strongest beings on this planet, but listening to the lectures every day makes me think that they aren't."

"You can't think that. Everybody always needs some help every once and awhile; even your mom."

"Huh? My mom?"

"Yeah, she was my research project my first year of training. She's an amazing woman."

"Yeah she is."

"Remembering her, I'm starting to see why you'd think Huntsmen and Huntresses don't need teammates. She is strong. One of the strongest Huntresses I've ever studied, but you have to remember Ruby, there's always somebody or something that's better in the world." That comment sent Ruby into her thoughts as they got to their room. Before they entered, Ruby asked Blake a question.

"Hey Blake, how come you're not in our class? You seem way smarter than some of the people in our class. You're definitely smarter than me."

"I just don't feel this kind of segregation is necessary."

"What do you mean?"

"To tell you truth, I was originally in that class, but I decided to switch. I was curious about why there were two classes, but as I study in my class, I don't see a difference. I'm starting to feel a competitive edge in all of this and if we're training to protect the world, there's no need for that." Again, Blake put Ruby to her thoughts. Her head fell to the floor and spotted Nora in the corner of her eye opening her door. She ran to her before she went in.

"Hi Nora, I just wanted to say thank you, for what you did in class."

"Oh don't worry about it. We're teammates right?"

"Yeah." Ruby started to smile.

"Have a good night Ruby."

"Okay, you two." Nora walked into her room and Ruby went to hers. When she got inside, she laid on her bed and stared at the ceiling. She was slowly starting to understand the importance of all this, but was still wondering why her mother never told her about this part of a Huntress' life. Blake walked out of the bathroom, turned off the lights, and got into bed. Before she could fall asleep, Ruby asked her one more question.

"Blake, do you have any weaknesses?" There was no response at first. Ruby turned to face Blake, who was thinking about her question.

"I don't know, but if I had a team to rely on, it would be their strength. Good night Ruby." She turned and fell asleep. Ruby turned back to face the ceiling. What did she mean by that? I wish I was as smart as her.

"Good night Blake."

End of Chapter 3


	4. Vol 1 Chapter 4

Origin of a Hero

Chapter 4

As the sun rose, the third year school rose to take on another day of training. The morning was very lively for everyone, including Ruby. She woke up right on time and got to class before the bell even rang. When the rest of her team made it to class, she stood up to welcome them. After that, the rest of the class started to file in as the bell rang to go to class. When Yang arrived, she was surprised to see Ruby there so early and so ready.

"Sup Ruby. You seem awfully chipper this morning."

"Really? I don't feel any different."

"Right. So are you ready for today's presentation?"

"Yep, we talked a lot yesterday and I finally think I understand now."

"That's good. Well good luck." The teacher walked in and everyone took their seats.

"Alright, good morning class. I hope you all worked hard on what we talked about yesterday and I hope you all enjoyed your group. Now, let's begin. How about we have Cardin, Russell, Velvet, and Mercury come up and talk about what you guys think." The four of them stood up and walked to the front of the room. As Ruby watched them make their way to the front of the room, she couldn't help but feel tension amongst their team. When they got in front of the class, they stood apart from each other and didn't look at each other once. Cardin stepped forward and spoke for the group.

"It's really quite simple. A team is made up of people who are exceptionally skilled and can work together. However, the people you're paired with determines the success of said group. That being said, this group can never be successful. That is all."

"Hm, interesting. So you're saying that because of the people you're with, you wouldn't be able to complete your tasks to the letter?"

"Exactly."

"Okay, thank you Cardin for that very pessimistic view on things. Can we have Weiss, Yang, Sun, and Adam come to the front?" Yang stood up and punched Ruby on the shoulder, giving her a wink as she made her way up to the front.

"Hello, my name is Weiss and before we start, I'd like to say that our group will always be successful, according to Cardin's perspective." Cardin scoffed and stuck his feet up on his desk.

"I'm Yang. Huntsmen and Huntresses are known to be the strongest people on this planet and the idea of being on a team seems nothing but practical."

"We all have our strengths as Huntsmen and Huntresses."

"And what we concluded was that if we bring together all of our strengths, there is nothing that can defeat us." The teacher remained silent for a bit.

"Let's be hypothetical for a minute. If you were Huntsmen and Huntresses, what would be your strengths?"

"That's simple. I'd be an all-around good fighter."

"I guess I would choose power over other things."

"I would choose speed. I've always wanted to be fast."

"A master swordsman." The teacher shook his head slowly with a smile on his face.

"I'm impressed. It appears you all took this very seriously and I can tell that you all contributed something to the group. Very good. You may take a seat. Alright, now we're starting to understand. Ruby, Nora, Ren, and Pyrrha; you guys are up." They stood up and walked to the front. Before they started, they got in a huddle.

"Hey, what are we doing?" Ren looked at everyone in the group.

"Ruby, I think it would be best if you spoke for us." Ruby stepped back in shock.

"What? Why me?"

"Well, you shared with us your weaknesses and we enlightened you on what we know. We just feel that by showing them your knowledge, it will make you a stronger person."

"Don't worry Ruby. We believe in you. Why else would we do this to you? We're a time now, right?" Ruby smiled and shook her head. They broke from their huddle and Ruby stepped into the spotlight.

"Hi, my name is Ruby. This is Nora, Ren, and Pyrrha. We talked a lot yesterday about all of this. It took us awhile because I still wasn't quite sure about the whole team thing. Luckily, they understood me and told me what it meant to be a team. We concluded that by knowing each other's weaknesses, we'll be able to make each other stronger. It'll allow us to protect and understand one another. In the beginning, I didn't understand this concept, but now I realize that no one is perfect; not even Huntsmen and Huntresses." The class started to mumble and the teacher was silent.

"Allow this is a very used idea every year, the way your group handled it was exceptional. From what you told us, you plan to work beside your weaknesses to build your team into the strongest it can be." They all shook their heads in agreement. "Outstanding. I think this one deserves a round of applause." The claps slowly increased, but Weiss was still on-edge. She was angered by the idea of a low-life outshining her. "So to make it clear, the winner of this competition goes to this team. One point for each of you."

"What are the points for?"

"You'll find out." Their teacher excused the class for the rest of the day. Before Ruby could make it out of the class, Yang put her in a head lock and told her how proud she was. They walked out together and made their way to the cafeteria. On their way there, they came across Blake.

"Hey Blake, you wanna have lunch with us?"

"Sure, that sounds fun."

"Hi, I'm Yang."

"Blake."

"Oh, sorry. Forgot to introduce you two." After their introductions were complete, they continued to walk to the cafeteria where they were cut off by a oddly-looking Weiss. She stood in front of them with her face down and fists clenched. They stopped dead in their tracks for they knew something bad was going to happen. Yang decided to step in.

"Hey Weiss, we're just gonna grab something to eat if you wanna join..."

"Shut up. I need that from you Yang," she said while thrusting her finger into Yang's chest. After she silenced Yang, she slowly turned to Ruby. "You. I don't know what you're trying to do, but this proves nothing. You might have gotten lucky on this one, but I guarantee it won't be so easy anymore." Suddenly, Blake stepped in.

"Hey, what's your problem? As far as I know, Ruby didn't do anything wrong." Weiss chuckled softly to herself.

"That's what you think, but she was the problem ever since she got here. I don't know you, I don't want to know you, but you're wasting your time trying to defend her." Weiss stormed off with enormous rage. All of a sudden, the group atmosphere was torn to shreds. Blake and Yang lost their appetite and Ruby silently walked back to her room. The other two girls knew that Ruby shouldn't be interrupted so they gave her so space on their way back to their rooms. When they got there, Ruby entered without a word and Blake and Yang stood outside for a bit.

"Do you think she'll be alright?"

"I can't say. I've never seen her like this." Yang clenched her fists. "Uh! What's that girls problem? She's done nothing but give Ruby a hard time. I can't stand people like her."

"Yeah, well we all have to deal with people like that some point in our lives'. I'm going to try to talk to her, okay?"

"Alright, good luck. I won't be much help because seeing Ruby like this stumps me too." Blake and Yang parted to their own devices.

When Blake entered the room, she slowly opened the door and gently asked if Ruby was alright. When the room was completely visible, she saw Ruby sitting on the ground in the middle of the room. She was confused. She expected Ruby to be bawling on her bed, but instead, she was quiet and calm. After there was no response, Blake decided to sit behind her with their backs facing each other.

"Hey Ruby, if you're thinking about Weiss, don't. She's just a bully. You don't need to affiliate yourself with her. All you have to worry about is doing the best you can at this school. You don't need to live up to anyone's standards, just your own; not even Yang's or mine's. You are your own person." Blake stopped and waited for a response, but there was nothing. All she heard was the sound of Ruby's breathing. "You know, ever since I started this training program, I've felt alone. Part of it was due to my own doing, but now, it's different. You've allowed me to open myself up to the world and it already appears that you've done the same, but not everyone will open up to you. There are just some people out there like Weiss."

"Blake?"

"Yeah?"

"I know what you're trying to do and thank you, but Weiss isn't the problem. I'm letting my mom down."

"What do you mean?"

"Before I left her, she told me to change the world and I just feel like I'm letting her down." Blake turned to face Ruby and Ruby was starting to tear up. Blake embraced her in her arms.

"Don't think that Ruby. You're doing a great job."

"How? How am I doing my job when Weiss hates me?"

"Ruby, this job of yours is a big task. It can never be done in one day, no matter who you are. Allow some time and I promise you, you will change the world." Ruby sniffled.

"Thank you Blake; for understanding."

"No problem." Suddenly, an alert came from Ruby's desk. She walked to it and it displayed a message for a video chat. She opened it and it was her mom.

"Hi baby. How are you doing?"

"Mommy? How?"

"The school contacted me and said that you were having some difficulties. They allowed me to talk to you for only a short amount of time. How are you doing?"

"I don't know. There are some moments where it's great and some moments where I think I don't belong here."

"You can't think that, sweety. You belong there, maybe the only one who does. You just have to remain strong, for you and everyone else. Just remember who we are. If we are weak, what gives people a reason to follow our example?" Ruby put her head down and sighed. "I love you Ruby. Remember that."

"I love you too." Suddenly, the video turned black and read,

"Message disconnected." Meanwhile, Blake was watching over Ruby and when the message ended, she put her hand on Ruby's shoulder.

"It's okay Ruby. I'm sure your mom misses you as much as you miss her."

"I miss her more." She leapt into Blake's arms again. This time, Blake was starting to tear up. She was having a hard time to understand what Ruby was going through. She never did tell her that she doesn't really remember her own mother. She just brought Ruby to her bed and stayed by her side all night.

Meanwhile in Yang's room, she received a similar video chat from her dad. Her roommate wasn't there at the time.

"They tell me that Ruby is experiencing some problems."

"Yeah. I'm trying to help her, but this one girl is unrelenting," she said quietly.

"Yang, you can't let one person stand as a barrier in another's path, let alone your sister."

"I know. I'm trying my best."

"I know it sounds like I don't care about your own well-being, but this will make a stronger person. Help guide others down a path of righteousness."

"Okay."

"I love you."

"I love you too." The message disconnected and her roommate entered.

"Hi, she said roughly.

"Hi Weiss."

End of Chapter 4


	5. Vol 1 Chapter 5

Origin of a Hero

Chapter 5

Weeks went by and class was pretty boring. The lectures were starting to become rote and Ruby's relationship with Weiss wasn't getting any better. Ruby constantly thought about what Yang and her mother told her about people and she decided that it would be best to stay as far away from Weiss as possible. On the other hand, she was getting closer and closer with her past teammates and others from her class. Yang stayed by her side and made sure that everything went well. With 2 weeks left in the first semester, their teacher gathered the class for one more announcement.

"Alright class, you've all done an exceptional job this semester, but it's not over yet. I have another assignment for you all. I'll break you all into 3 teams again and you'll have to complete this task. With your new team, you will create a battle plan against the enemy and execute it to the letter. Any questions?" The class was befuddled. They were completely caught off guard.

"Um, how are we suppose to execute this so-called plan without weapons?"

"Don't worry about that. Your enemies aren't going to be much of a threat. Here at this academy, we have a virtual battle room that we can create to our likings so you're in no danger. Anything else?" He looked around and everyone seemed to be on the same page. "Alright, let's begin. We have: Ruby, Yang, Ren, and Mercury, Pyrrha, Weiss, Cardin, and Russell, and Nora, Sun, Adam, and Velvet."

Yang looked at Ruby who took a sigh of relief. Somehow, she avoided being on a team with Weiss. Nora was saddened that she wasn't on the same team as Ren. As the teacher wrote everyone's names on the board and their teams, they were quite interested in the groupings. The teacher has his reasons for what he does, but it seemed that there were a couple of the same pairings on the same team this go around. Before they could think about this assignment anymore, the teacher interrupted them once again.

"Now, when I call your team up, I'll give you the parameters of your team and how you'll have to devise a strategy to complete this task."

First up was Nora's team and he told them that their team was a long-distance attack group. Their enemies will be defending a package inside a small temple. Their goal is to simply retrieve the package with no friendly casualties. Next, Weiss' team is a special force team that will have to escape from a deadly chase. Make it from their starting position to the end of the battle room without any friendly casualties to pass. Lastly was Ruby's team. With only close range abilities, they'll have to eliminate their enemies from across the map. No friendly casualties will give them a pass. Everyone was overwhelmed by their task. This was a lot different from the last team assignment. However, they were all really glad that they had 2 weeks to prepare.

During these last 3 weeks of the semester, their teacher cancelled class to allow his students to prepare for their final. His class was open so they could plan out their strategies.

Week 1 with Ruby's team...

"So I'm guessing us being a short-range team is going to be of some significance."

"Yeah, and we're put in a long-distance scenario. How lovely? Anybody got any ideas?"

"Um yeah, I haven't introduced myself. I'm Mercury."

"You don't need to introduce yourself. We know who you are."

"Well, I felt that I needed to because you three seem so close already."

"Yeah we are, but do you have an idea?"

"It's not really an idea, but a question. How are we suppose to eliminate the enemies when we have no weapons."

"Yeah, that does make things complicated. Ruby or Yang, do you have any ideas?" Ruby and Yang were silent so that made the two guys retreat to their thoughts. Time went by and nothing was spoken. Days went by and nothing was thought up. Near the end of the week, the team met up once again to try to share some ideas. Everybody was thinking about things they could do and when they joined up, Ruby was the first to bring up some useful information. She brought a paper and pencil with her and started to draw up a plan. She drew a map of a make believe layout.

"Hey Rubes, what's this?"

"Our goal is to defeat our enemies from the opposite side of the map. So we have us right here and them over there. I don't know how big the map will be, but this is just a guess. If they are spread out along the opposite side of the map, we'll also split up to avoid casualties. It'll also make it harder for them to target us. We'll need to be quick and precise. The quicker we get to the other side, the less we'll have to worry." She looked around at everyone and they all seemed to be agreeing with her.

"So what about if they're bunched up together?"

"Good point Mercury. If they're together, they'll have to worry less about protecting themselves and more concentrated on targeting us."

"Thankfully, I came up with another plan that answers your question. Again, we'll need to spread out. The more room we create from each other, the more their defenses weakens. I predict their attacks will be more random than strategic if we do this correctly."

"That makes sense. Like your first plan, if it turns into a one-on-one, we'll have the advantage."

"Yang's right. When we see that they become scattered, we'll have to surround their position and make our move." Again, she looked at everyone and they all approved.

"Wow, I'm impressed Ruby. How long did it take you to come up with this strategy?"

"I can't really answer that. It just came to me this morning. Do you guys have any ideas?"

"Actually, I'm all with your plan Ruby. It's very thought out and simple for us to follow."

"I mean, I trust my little sis."

"Well, then it's settled. We'll go with your plan Ruby." They cheered with smiles on their faces and left to get lunch. Meanwhile, Weiss' team made their way into the classroom as they left. As Ruby exited the room, her eyes somehow met Weiss' deadly stare. It scared her so much that she nearly tripped walking out of the room.

Week 1 with Weiss' team...

"Alright, so does everyone understand our mission?" Everyone nodded. "So how are we going to complete this task?"

"Well, it seems that our mission is pretty straight forward. You guys have any ideas?"

"Something that we need to keep in mind is to not let our guard down. Since we're running away from our enemies, we'll need to be aware of our surroundings, both our fronts and our backs." Weiss was surprised. She was starting to feel better about her team and how they're contributing something.

"So if I'm understanding this right, all we need to do is concentrate on our defenses. There's no need to attack?"

"Right. To follow up on Cardin's ideas, we should stick together. This will provide our group with a 360 span of the environment."

"Even though we'll be in a group, we need to be quick. With four people in a concentrated area, it'll make us a bigger target and easier for us to be hit. So let's try not to stay in the same area for a long period of time. Can we all agree on that?" They all nodded. Weiss chuckled.

"Well that was easy. If there's nothing left to talk about, we're good for today." They all stood up and went their separate ways.

Ruby and Yang were walking back to their rooms after their lunch with their team and they both had smiles on their faces. Both of them were very surprised at how well their group works with each other and how much they get along.

"So Yang, what do you think?"

"What do you mean?"

"How do you like the group? Can you work with everyone?"

"I don't know. There's this one girl I can't stand." Ruby punched her in the shoulder. "Okay I'm sorry. No, everyone's great. I really think we'll be able to do this. The teacher is definitely pushing us to the limit."

"Oh yeah, definitely. It's such a different task than what we had to do in the beginning of the year. Well, if we're gonna move on, we have to be challenged." The two girls finally made it back to the room.

"Okay, well be sure to get some rest because we're gonna start some training exercises this next week. Sound good?"

"Yep. See you tomorrow." Ruby and Yang parted ways and when Ruby entered her room, Blake was sitting on her bed reading another book. "Hey Blake." She brought her eyes out of her book to greet Ruby.

"How was class?"

"Remember we're preparing for our final so we don't have class."

"Oh right. Lucky."

"Trust me, I'm not. It's a lot harder than it seems. We have to come up with a plan that correlates with the teachers conditions and execute it to the letter."

"I see. Did you guys come up with a plan yet?"

"Yeah, we have to plans. Here, I'll show you." Ruby showed Blake her paper and explained the two parameters. Blake was very impressed that Ruby came up with this all by herself. Across the hall, Yang was all alone waiting for her roommate to return from class. After a couple of minutes, Weiss came in and Yang did her best to greet her as nice as she could.

"Hey Weiss."

"Hi, how's your plan coming along?"

"It's coming. We're just worried about the actual thing because you, of all people, know that not everything goes according to plan."

"I do have to agree with you on that. What are he conditions of your plan?" Yang was shocked. Was Weiss actually interested in her part of her final? Weiss was usually so to herself.

"Well, we're a short-distance team that has to eliminate our enemies from across the map. You?"

"Wow, that sucks. We just have to escape to the other side of the map."

"Are you kidding me? That sounds like a piece of cake."

"Hey, like you said, not everything goes according to plan. We could be forced into a situation that we're not prepared for. It all depends on the day of the actual test."

"Yeah, you're right."

"Well, I'm gonna get some rest. We only have 1 more week to prepare and it's only gonna get harder."

"Good point. Good night." Yang turned off the lights and got into bed. Before she fell asleep, she was thinking about how open Weiss was being towards her. What made her do that? But then again, Yang was being nicer to Weiss than usual. The thought of her getting along with her roommate made it easier to fall asleep and prepare for their final week of preparation.


	6. Vol 1 Chapter 6

Origin of a Hero

Chapter 6

Week 2 with Weiss' team...

During the second week, each team got to use the battle room for a certain amount of time. Weiss' team got the battle room first and didn't waste any time whatsoever. During this week, the battle room emulated a simple forest landscape to offer the teams a sense of place. To recap, Weiss' objective is to escape their enemies by making their way across the map without any friendly casualties.

Each team was allotted three days to use the battle room and on the their first day, they mostly spent their time familiarizing themselves with how the room was. They mapped out how big the room was and estimated how far each person needed to be from each other to be effective. Weiss decided to take the left-center part of the map when they escape. Cardin chose the left side of the map, Russell picked the right-center part, and Pyrrha was on the right side.

"Alright, does anybody have any questions?" Weiss looked around and everyone looked as confident as ever. "Let's line up against the wall and try to simulate what we're gonna have to do." The team lined up and Weiss looked down at everyone to see if they were all ready. They all gave her a nod and they proceeded with their mission.

Right from the start, their movements were very fluid and quick. Each person occasionally took cover behind a tree, but for only a short amount of time. They maximized their escape time while minimizing their recovery time. Weiss was in front of everyone, but she only looked back once the entire they were practicing. She constantly kept her attention on the other side of the room. Once she made it to the wall, she looked back to see her teammates making their way safely to the wall.

"That was horrible. You guys were really slow. We can't sluggishly run away from our enemies. If that was the real thing, I'm pretty sure we would have failed. Russell, you gave them so many chances to hit you and Pyrrha, you blindly ran to your destination. Be aware of your surroundings. Cardin, you were the slowest out of anyone. Pick it up." She brought her team back to the other side and made them do it again until it was perfect.

Week 2 with Nora's team...

Not much happened with Nora's team. It took them the entire 3 days to get their strategy correct. They all worked well with each other, but they didn't really connect as a team. They constantly had to tell each other what to do in the situation they were in. Pretty much, this team will need a lot of luck.

Week 2 with Ruby's team...

Their team got to use the battle room the last 3 days. When they reached the room, it wasn't prepared at the time. They got to see the room fill with wireframes and lights scanning the room. Then, from top to bottom, the room started to scan a forest landscape. No one really paid attention to how the room did that, except for Ruby. She was captivated by how the room worked. In the beginning, they simply walked around the forest to get comfortable. After a couple minutes, Ruby gathered everyone and talked.

"So what do you guys think?"

"It's definitely bigger than I expected."

"For sure, is this what you were expecting?" Ruby shook her head.

"Alright, let's practice." Yang brought her fist into her palm, ready for some action.

"Actually, I was planning on talking about that." Everyone turned their heads in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I don't think we should train."

"What?!" Everyone's responses were simultaneous.

"Yeah, the reason being is that we can't." They were still confused. "This test has a set parameter to it and there really is no way we can prepare ourselves except being mentally prepared."

"Ruby, I know we're related and all, but I'm totally lost. How are we suppose to pass if we don't train here and now?"

"Well, we can train all we want, but because this is a battle simulation, everything will be different. So here are the two choices I suggest? We take the rest of week off from training, but still discuss what our goals and plans are or we train and try to anticipate our enemies actions with the unknown knowledge we have." Everyone pondered her choices. It seemed like a simple this or that, but because this was their final for the semester, they had to think carefully. Yang brought her head up.

"So what do you guys think?" Ren sighed.

"I think it would be best to take the week off." The reactions of the other two were surprisingly.

"Yeah, I agree. Ruby's logic is pretty sound. Yang?"

"Well, I trust my little sis."

"Okay." Ruby and the group walked out of the battle room where they were intercepted by their teacher.

"Well now, where are we headed off to?"

"We're gonna discuss some more." The teacher grew an interested look on his face.

"Really now? Will you be ready in the time that you have left?" Ruby looked to her teammates and they all nodded back at her.

"Absolutely."

End of Chapter 6


	7. Vol 1 Chapter 7

Origin of a Hero

Chapter 7

"Attention all 1-A class members, please report to the battle room at once. Again, all 1-A class members, please report to the battle room at once." Everyone dropped their things and ran to the battle room. As they all ran to the battle room, they were all thinking that this was it. The trip there lasted only a couple of seconds for the group. Most of them were excited for this day, but some were dreading it right down to their bones. When they arrived, their teacher was waiting for them in front of the entrance.

"Morning students, you all ready?" He looked around and everyone tried their best to avoid eye contact. "Well, today's the day. Before we start, I'll give you all some words of comfort. If any of you are worried about failing or getting hurt, don't be. This is a test, but also an evaluation. We are trying to see how well you work in a group. Passing will look great, but failing will not penalize you. As long as we see the effort we're looking for, you have nothing to worry about. Now, let's get this thing started. I'll have one team prepare and the other wait in the waiting room. The team who will get the honor to start this year's 1st final will be:" He paused for affect. "Nora's team. Go ahead and get ready. The rest of you, go down this hallway and the waiting room will be on the left."

He excused the other two groups and followed the testing group. Their faces were as white as could ever be. He had them sit down inside the preparation room and told them the parameters of their test.

"If you've forgotten your mission, I'll remind you all. Your mission is so: Your abilities have everything to do with being long-distance fighters and you'll have to infiltrate an enemy base. Do this without any friendly casualties and you will pass." Nora stood up and broke the silence.

"Come on team, we got this. " She brought them up to their feet and patted them all on the back.

"Oh yes, one more thing I should inform you. Your enemy is a close-combat team so keep that in mind. Here." He handed the four of them a belt of 10 grenades."

"What are these?"

"These are shock charges. They explode on impact. Because your enemies are computer generated, these will be your best bets on succeeding. Any questions?" Everyone was silent. "Alright then, go and step through this door. Good luck to you all." They stepped into the arena and awaited their destiny. The door closed behind them and the room was pitch black. From the ceiling came down wireframes that filled the room. A couple seconds went by and then the room started to develop color. The scan was complete. Their landscape was heavy forest with a wide open enemy area. An announcement came up.

"Participants, are you ready? Your test begins... Now!" An alarm sounded and the test began. From above, there was a box office that was observing the entire thing. Inside was their teacher, the principal of the 3rd school, and the principal of the 4th school. Right from the start, their teacher was disappointed. The 3rd school principal started to comment on what he was seeing.

"I don't see any teamwork going on at all."

"Nope. They're not even using their weapons. What are they waiting for?" In the presence of his higher ranks, he was too afraid to say anything.

"If they get any closer, it'll be nothing but bad news." The 4th school principal nodded his head.

"Those grenades easily could have eliminated their enemies from their starting position. It appears their focus was on completing the mission, not eliminating their enemies." Then suddenly, an alarm sounded and the test was over. Velvet was hit by an enemy attack and that ended their test. An announcement came on that sounded through the entire testing facility.

"Up next, we have Weiss' team." From the waiting room, Weiss' team brought their heads up from the ground to see the door to the battle room. They stood up and walked to the door, but was stopped by their teacher.

"Alright, are you ready?" They nodded. "Down this hallway and you'll eventually make it to the battle room." He guided the team down the hallway and before they entered, he stopped them once more. "Before you start, I will inform you all on some important information. Again, you're team must escape from your enemy to the opposite side of the landscape without any friendly. Unfortunately, you are not provided any weapons. Any questions?" They didn't ask, but their faces showed that they still had tons of questions unanswered. "Okay then, good luck." They walked through the door and entered the dark room. The wireframes filled the room and scanned into a desert climate. They all stood there stunned and Pyrrha put her hand over her face.

"Oh no."

"How are we suppose to safely escape with no cover?"

"Don't worry about that, just run as fast as you can."

"Are the test participants ready? In 3...2...1...Go!" The alarm sounded and the test had begun.

"Run," Weiss shouted. Only a couple of seconds went by until their enemy spawned and starting attacking them. Like in their training, they spread out as far as they could, but their enemy was forcing them to bunch up near the middle of the map.

"Weiss, this isn't working!"

"Well, what do you want me to do about it?!"

"Come up with a better plan!" She halted for those words that Cardin yelled at her hit her right in the face. She couldn't believe that someone disliked her abilities. She thought it was a good plan, her other teammates thought it was a good plan; why didn't he think it was. Pyrrha lead the team when she turned to see a projectile heading right for Weiss.

"Weiss, look out!" She turned around to see a grenade flying right at her face. It was too late to take cover so she put her head in her arms and fell to the floor. The grenade exploded right before it hit Weiss and created a cloud of smoke. A few seconds went by and then the alarm sounded.

"Test over. Please proceed to the waiting room. Last, but not least, can we have Ruby's team make their way to the battle arena?"

The four of them were patiently waiting for that announcement and stood up right as they heard it. By now, they knew the procedure. They walked through the hall and waited at the entrance to the battle room.

"Alright, you guys are last. Let's give them a good show. So to recap, you're a close-combat team trying to infiltrate your enemy's base. Note that they are a long-distance team. Get everyone inside their base and you pass. Good luck." He turned around. "Oh right, one more thing. Take these. They are electro-swords. Hit your enemies with this and it'll be an instant kill. Knock 'em dead." The door to the arena opened and they stepped in. They weren't surprised though. The room filled with wireframes and scanned. The scan, however, took a little longer than usual. Before not too long, they were introduced to a flatland terrain. On the other side of map was a mountain and on top of it was the enemy base. The room scan was complete and Yang spoke up.

"Well, you guys ready?" She turned on the electro-sword and readied herself. Ruby got low and closed her eyes. She cleared her mind and slowed her breathing.

"Participants ready? In 3...2...1...Go!" Ruby opened her eyes and they focused only on the mountain in front of her.

As her team made their way to the mountain, small stone structures appeared and they took cover behind them. Right as they took cover, projectiles were sent into the air. Ren stuck his head out to survey the situation.

"Take cover. I think they're shooting at us." From behind those stone structures, they were partially safe, but the enemy would eventually figure out their location. Ruby looked up at the mountain and noticed that their attacks were organized in some way.

"You three wait for my signal, I'm gonna distract them. When you're clear, get closer. We can't take this too fast." They nodded and held their positions. Ruby took a deep breath and ran out of cover. As hoped, they drew their attention on Ruby and shot at her. As the explosions ceased on the other side, the rest of her team made their way closer to the mountain. When they took cover, Ruby did her best to make it near their location. Mercury looked up.

"What's next?" now, Ruby was out of ideas. He looked at everyone else and they were too worried about what was happening at that moment. "Looks like we're gonna have to climb it." Everyone gave him a concerning face.

"Are you sure?" Mercury didn't respond. He just took a deep breath and started to climb the mountain.

"Come on, we can't abandon him." One by one, they grabbed a hold of the mountain and started their ascension. "Watch your step." It seemed to be going well, but then, Ruby looked up to see her enemies looking right at them.

"Look out!" They all looked up.

"Throw your swords!"

"What?!"

"Just trust me, do it." They all turned on their swords and threw them up the mountain. Surprisingly, they hit.

"Ren, how'd you know to do that?"

"Earlier, I noticed that they was only 4 origin points of the shooters so it was kind of a hail mary plan actually."

"Well, thank God we did."

They continued to climb. From above, rubble fell from the top of the mountain and they looked up again. To their surprise, there were 4 more enemies waiting for them. They had grenades in their hands and dropped them down the mountain.

"Um, Rubes, what do we do now?" Ruby didn't respond. She just closed her eyes and sighed. A huge cloud of smoke engulfed the neck of the mountain. The alarm sounded and the test was over. Their teacher walked into the arena and instructed them to follow him.

He lead them into the grand hall of the school where the other two teams were waiting. On stage was their teacher, 3rd school principal, and 4th school principal. The 3rd school principal stepped up to the front of the stage.

"Well, sorry the results of your tests weren't very pleasing, but I should share with you this. These tests are meant to be impossible. No one can pass it. Alternatively, this test is suppose to test your ability to adapt and your trust in your teammates. That being said, don't worry. No one's leaving the program. No one's being dropped from this class. However, we will tell you the actual results of the test." Their teacher stepped forward.

"Only being able to finish 10% of the test was Weiss' team." Ruby and Yang were shocked. They looked over at Weiss who had her jaw drop to the floor and her face as pale as ever. "Next, completing 15% of the test was Nora's team." Ren looked over at Nora who was way too overjoyed for 15% completion. "And with an astounding 57% completion was Ruby's team. Let's give them a hand." The room filled with applause and the four of them couldn't help but blush. They did the best they could to enjoy their applause, but it only seemed awkward for them. Then, the 4th school principal stepped out.

"Hello students, I am the 4th school principal. I was able to examine your abilities in this test and I have to say I'm quite impressed, especially with the last team. Your teammate work and adaptability has not been seen for quite some time. I definitely look forward to the end-of-the-year final." Without another word, he stepped out of the spotlight and left.

"Well, I have to say I'm proud of you guys. You definitely tried your hardest and that deserves you all a break. No class for 2 weeks. Enjoy it, go have fun." Him and the 3rd school principal bowed and left the grand hall.

The students didn't really know how to celebrate. It didn't even feel like they accomplished anything. They were just glad that it was over. During the test, everyone felt really uncomfortable and had a big sense of doubt. Ruby and Yang walked over to Ren and Nora and asked them out to lunch. They gladly accepted and walked out. However, they were intercepted by Weiss at the door. Her head was down. Her cheeks were red and tears were falling from her face.

"Um, hi Weiss," Yang said timidly. Weiss slowly lifted her head to face Ruby. At this point, Ruby was a deer in headlights.

"Weiss?"

Sniffling, "Congratulations Ruby. You did really well." Ruby was still in shock.

"Um, thanks Weiss. You..." Weiss ran off in tears.

"I wonder what happened to her."

"I don't know." Ruby looked at the ground and followed Weiss tear trail until they disappeared from sight. "That wasn't my fault, was it?"

"Of course not Ruby. You did nothing wrong."

"I hope I didn't." Yang came up next to her and wrapped her arm around Ruby.

"Come on guys, let's eat. I'm starving."

End of Chapter 7


	8. Vol 1 Chapter 8

Origin of a Hero

Chapter 8

Everyone's two weeks off were quite enjoyable. No one did anything school related, except for Weiss. She stayed in her room all day and all night reading books about Huntsmen and Huntresses. Yang did her best to be nice, but Weiss never acknowledged her. Whenever Yang invited her out with the group, Weiss would look at her and then return to her readings. Other that her, everyone had a good time. Yang got to get closer with Blake and Ruby strengthened her relationship with Ren, Nora, and Pyrrha. Finally, the day has come for everyone to return to class, but were immediately taken off guard.

"Welcome back class, I hope you all enjoyed your little break. I hope that gave you some time to relax and think about what you're getting into because this semester will challenge you even further. So, let's make this a fun one." That comment worried everyone to the extremes. For some reason, that was probably the scariest thing he's ever said all year. "To start off simple though, I want each of you to write an essay on your ideal team. Feel free to use any resources that are available to you." Ruby raised her hand.

"Are there any other restrictions? Like, how long does it need to be?"

"Good question Ms. Rose. All I want is a well-thought out essay. You can write as much as you deem necessary; as long as it conveys your ideals. Due next week so good luck. Class dismissed." Everyone stood up and walked out.

"Hey Rubes, you wanna brainstorm together?"

"Uh no thanks. I think I wanna I try this one myself."

"Alright, good luck." Ruby and Yang said goodbye to each other and went their separate ways.

Ruby took an interesting approach to this assignment. She didn't concern herself the first couple of days. She didn't even think of anything to write until the end of her time span. She spent most of her time wandering through the school and seeing new things. Every day, she would find a new place to sit and enjoy her surroundings. Her first day was very eventful. She took a seat on a bench in the middle of the school square and looked around. People were socializing and life seemed to move at a steady pace. Ruby looked up and saw a huge flock of birds fly over her, but a small bird broke off from the group and never returned to it. This caught her attention to where she stared at it for most of her day. Blake was passing by when she saw Ruby nearly drooling as she was looking up at the sky. Blake walked over to Ruby and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Hey Ruby, what are you doing?" The sound of Blake's voice awakened Ruby from her trance and she shook her head to regain focus.

"Oh, hey, Blake." She still didn't answer Blake.

"What are you doing," she asked slower than before.

"Oh, I was just watching that bird." Ruby pointed to the sky and Blake tried to follow, but when she did, the bird vanished. "Aw, it's gone." Blake brought her eyes back down and gave Ruby an concerned look.

"Well, are you done?" Ruby was still looking up at the sky.

"Yeah, I think so."

"You wanna go grab something to eat?"

"Sure." Blake stuck out her hand and Ruby took it. They walked towards the cafeteria where Yang came out of nowhere.

"Sup Ruby, how's your essay going?"

"It's going." Yang smiled and wrapped her arm around Ruby. The two girls guided Ruby into the cafeteria where they enjoyed dinner together. The rest of the night went by like usual.

The next day was another experience for Ruby. This time, she brought a notepad with her to try and start something. She found another bench to spend her day on. However, this bench had the view of only a busy street near the school. As she watched the cars buzz by, nothing caught her attention. She pressed her pen against the paper, but nothing came into mind. She put her pen down and sighed. She knew this assignment wasn't going to be a killer, but it was simply a challenge to put her thoughts onto paper. Then suddenly, she saw a mother duck with her 4 babies emerge from the bushes. At first, she thought it was really cute, but was surprised to see what happened next. The mother duck stepped into the road and crossed it as fast as she could. When she reached the other side, she didn't look back and kept on walking. In her head, Ruby was thinking that it was so absurd for a mother to leave her babies behind. She started to feel sad that those babies were left alone, but when she looked at them again, they started to cross the street in the same manner as their mother. This event made Ruby both speechless and thoughtless. She didn't know what to think of it. They reached the other side of the street safely and ran after their mother.

With this event resolved, Ruby stood up, grabbed her things, and returned to her room. On her way back, Weiss was sitting by her window when she saw Ruby pass by with a smile on her face and an empty notepad. She scoffed and rolled her eyes. She got up and walked over to a mirror that was in her room.

"How can she be so easy-going? This is an academy meant to train the best of the best. It's not meant for pushovers like her." After she got over her little rant, she walked over to her desk and sat down. When she looked at her paper, she bit her lip and pounded on her desk. She got up and stormed the room, but ran into Yang on her way out.

"Hey Weiss, what's up?" She ignored Yang and pushed her aside. Yang wasn't confused at all. Weiss is always mean to her, but this time definitely felt weird. She closed the door and inspected the room. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary until she browsed Weiss' desk. She noticed there was a paper on top that read: My team. However, the paper was empty.

While Weiss stormed off, Ruby was making her way back to her room and then suddenly, she was knocked to the ground. She grabbed her head in pain and shut her eyes.

"Ow. Sorry, I didn't..."

"Why can't you look where you're going?!" Ruby opened her eyes and saw that it was Weiss

"I'm sorry, I..."

"I don't want to hear it." Weiss stood up and ran off. Before she left, Ruby saw a small sparkle of light fall from Weiss' face and hit the ground. She turned to watch Weiss run off.

"Weiss?" She didn't respond. She just continued to run off. Ruby got up and tried to grab a hold of the situation, but it was no use. She simply walked back to her room in silence.

Meanwhile, Weiss stormed off and eventually landed herself at the 3rd school fountain. The light from the moon reflected off the flowing water. Weiss sat down beside it and stared at its beauty. The main architecture had 4 Huntsmen standing with each other and an inscription that said they were the greatest team in the history of Huntsmen and Huntresses. After she idolized the statue, she read another inscription on the fountain that read if you toss a coin into the fountain, your dreams will come true.

"That's stupid," she said to herself, but then took it right back. Inside the fountain were hundreds of coins resting at the bottom of the floor. She reached in her pocket and pulled out a coin. She looked at it in detail and looked into the water where all the coins were resting. "I always ask for too much, but this time, I need help. Please let me succeed. Please." She kissed the coin the flicked it into the water. She watched it fly through the air and hit the water, causing ripples to travel every which way and then dissipate. A small tear fell from her eye and then she left to return to her room. When she got there, Yang was still up trying to write some of her essay, but turned around to acknowledge her.

"Hey Weiss."

"Hi," she said shyly. An awkward silence grew within the room.

"Hey, uh, Ruby and I were wondering if you wanted to join us tomorrow. It won't be just us. It'll be some of the others from our class. We decided to take a day off a try to feel like normal kids again. If you don't want to, I understand. I just thought..."

"I'd love to."

"Uh, what?"

"I'll be happy to join."

"Alright, great." She turned back around to continue on her essay. Weiss walked over to her desk and sat down. She looked at her paper and picked up her pen, but nothing came to mind. She dropped the pen and put her hands on her forehead.

"Why can't I think of anything," she asked quietly.

"Did you say something?" Weiss slammed her forehead on her desk and remained there for the rest of the night.

"Nothing, sorry."

End of Chapter 8


	9. Vol 1 Chapter 9

Origin of a Hero

Chapter 9

"But daddy..."

"No, I don't want to hear it. I'm putting you through this school so I want perfection. Your name is Schnee so there's a lot of responsibility on your shoulders. Don't let me down." Weiss' face was gloomy.

"Okay, I love you." Weiss opened her arms and tried to hug her father, but her father stood up and rejected her hug. He gave her a doubtful look and walked off. A tear started to fall from her eye and her mother ran into her arms and hugged her.

"It's okay sweety. It's alright."

"I can't do this mommy."

"Of course you can. You just have to believe in yourself." Weiss was wiping her face. Her mother grabbed her wrists and lowered them. "Listen to me sweety. Not everything goes according to plan. You're gonna have to stay strong and believe in yourself. People will always be around to help so please don't push others away. Okay? Promise me."

Sniffling, "Okay, I promise"

"I love you."

"I love you too."

...

Weiss woke up suddenly and sat up on her bed. She sighed and put her hands over her eyes. What are you doing Weiss? You made a promise with mommy. What went wrong?

"Uh!" She fell back onto her bed and stared at the ceiling until Yang finally woke up.

"Hm, morning Weiss." She looked over at her. "Hey, you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just have some nights where I don't sleep well."

"Well, I hope you're ready because today will definitely brighten up your day." Yang jumped out of bed and got ready. Weiss did as well, but at a much slower pace.

After everyone was ready, they met inside the cafeteria for some breakfast. The group for today was Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Yang, Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren. All throughout their morning, Weiss was very quiet. She just sat with them and listened to their conversations. To her surprise, everyone was very open, even though she was with them. Most of the conversations that took place at breakfast was just about what they were planning on doing for the day. Once everyone was done with their food, they walked out and headed into the school square. There, they decided to play some games. Everyone enjoyed themselves, but on the other hand, Weiss didn't seem to fit in. She participated in everything they did, but she just wasn't there. After about an hour, they took a break and Yang went over to Weiss.

"Hey Weiss, you alright? You seem kind of down."

"No, I'm fine. This is great."

"I know. I'm glad we decided to have fun today." Weiss smiled, but in her heart, she was still wondering what she was doing there.

When they decided their break was done, Ruby called everyone together and they all sat in a circle. Ruby explained to everyone that they were going to share some of their lives' experiences with each other. At first, they all felt really awkward, especially Weiss, but when Yang started to tell her story, everyone slowly relaxed their shoulders and opened up to everyone else.

"First off, Ruby and I are sisters. I know we don't look like it, but we share the same dad. I've never seen Ruby's mom and Ruby's never seen mine. We occasionally met when we were younger, but most of the time, our moms kept us separated. I don't know why; don't ask me. I didn't see a lot of my dad because he was a Huntsmen. All the stories my mom told me about him really made me want to become a Huntress. Just the idea of being one and the things they can do is just so, uhhh." Everyone laughed. "Anyone else?" Pyrrha raised her hand.

"I'm an only child. I really wish I had a sibling though. It was always so boring at my house. Both of my parents were part of the armed forces so I didn't get to see much of them. I was stuck with a babysitter that was very distant. She never talked to me or anything, but whenever I turned on the TV, I would see Huntsmen and Huntresses everywhere. At the time, I didn't know who or what they were, but they looked really classy so I decided to join and I haven't regretted it ever since." Everyone was somewhat confused. They didn't picture Pyrrha having that kind of background because on a normal day basis, she carries herself so proudly. Ren was next.

"I'm also an only child and I only have a mom. We're really close, but when I left, it destroyed both of us. We've never been separated and this definitely made it hard on both of us. When I think about it, I don't really know how I got inspired to be a Huntsmen. All I remember is my mom telling me to be who I wanted to be, not what others saw as being the norm. So I guess that's how I ended up here." Ruby immediately jumped in after him.

"I can relate with you so much. Leaving my mom was probably the hardest thing I've ever done. She was the biggest part of my life because she was really the only one who was there for me, but also, she was Huntress and she always came home with stories to tell that captivated me. The last thing I remember her telling me was to make a change. Ever since then, I've done everything I can to not let her down. I miss her so much." Nora was next.

"To be honest, I'm much different than you guys. I have 4 other siblings. 3 of them are older and the other is a year younger. My house was always so chaotic and I loved it, but something inside me told me that I couldn't be with them forever. None of them were Huntsmen or Huntresses and none of them had plans to be one so I'm still confused why I'm here, but I'm loving it. I do miss them too, but being one of the middle kids, I was mostly forgotten about. I'm a very outgoing person so this was never a problem for me." After Nora finished, the group grew quiet. They looked at Blake and Weiss who were sitting in their own silence.

"If you guys don't want to share, it's fine. No one's forcing you to." Suddenly, Blake spoke out as strong as she could.

"I was abandoned. I don't know who my parents are and the people who took me in are unlike anything you guys have ever known. All that my real parents left me was a note that I haven't read yet. It tells me to wait until the right moment. I don't know when that is, but it's my only connection back to them so I'm trying to cherish it as much as possible. I guess the reason why I'm here is because of the people who took me in. I never knew what they were doing or why, but something told me to be the complete opposite of them so I'm here." Everyone was nodding their heads as they were finally taking all of this in. On the other hand, Weiss was still silent.

"Weiss, you sure you don't want to say anything?" Weiss started to cower away from Ruby's question and Yang saw it.

"Hey, look it's getting late. How about we call that a day? I'm sure we still have a lot of work to do on our essays." They all looked at the horizon and nodded in agreement. They said goodbye to each other and returned to their rooms. Ruby tried to ask what was wrong with Weiss, but Yang cut her off again. "Just leave it alone Rubes."

"But she came here with us today. The least she could do was share something about herself."

"I just don't think she's ready. Everybody blooms at their own pace. Let her bloom on her own."

"Alright. Good night Yang."

"Night." They parted and went to their rooms. Yang opened the door to see Weiss already sitting on her bed with her head in her hands. She walked over to her slowly. "Hey Weiss, I'm sorry about what just happened. We all thought it was a good idea since we're all heading into the same thing together." She kneed down in front of Weiss. "If you hate me, I completely understand..." Weiss hugged Yang. Yang was speechless. She didn't know what to say or how to react so she just wrapped her arms around Weiss and said everything was alright.

"I'm sorry. It's my fault. I'm insecure."

"What? No you're not. I mean, I don't know you very well, but you don't seem like it at all."

"That's because that's my other side." Yang's eye squinted. "I have an older sister and a very strict father. Ever since I could remember, his attention was always focused on her. I don't think I existed to him until I told him I wanted to join the Huntsmen efforts. Once I figured out I was invisible, I turned into a goody-goody girl to please him when I was left alone with him. I acted perfect and made sure nothing affected me, but inside, things were swirling around so much that I couldn't understand anything. The day we had to leave our families, I decided to be straight with my father and showed him my real side. I told him I loved him and he just shunned me away. That crushed me so much that I vowed to let nothing affect me at all. But then I started to get to know you and Ruby and something just happened that I couldn't explain. That's why I'm the way I am. My background has caused me to reject the world and escape to my oasis which is myself. I'm sorry if this worried you, but I had to get it off my chest." Yang was silent. "Well, say something. Please."

"Thank you for telling me. It means a lot."

"For some reason, I only feel comfortable with you."

"Don't worry, your secret is safe with me." Yang smiled at Weiss and a smile finally broke through her face. "Alright, it's getting late. I'm gonna go to bed. Good night."

"Good night."

The two girls changed into their pjs and went to sleep. Yang fell asleep as soon as she hit her bed, but Weiss stayed up for a bit. She kept thinking about her confession. Nothing about what she did felt wrong. It actually felt right, as if doing that will make things easier for her. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. From the silence of the night, she heard a soft voice.

"You can do it sweety. I believe in you." It was her mother. She clenched her fists and put them against her heart.

"I won't let you down."

End of Chapter 9


	10. Vol 1 Chapter 10

Origin of a Hero

Chapter 10

**Note:** Hey guys, sorry for updating this so late. It's kind of difficult trying to write two stories at the same time and going to school. Anyway, I wanted to apologize if this is starting to become a little rushed. My plan was to develop the characters, but this volume wasn't supposed to have much. The next volume is where their development will be more crucial so be patient with me. The next volume will be the heart of this story. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!

Today was the day their responses were due. Their teacher instructed them to drop off their response and they were done for the day. He opened the door to his room, pulled out his reading equipment, and waited for his students. One after another, they slowly made their way into class and handed him their responses. On top of the pile was Nora's paper.

...

Huntsmen and Huntresses all have something special about them. They all are assigned to teams of 4. To me, I think a team should be comprised of equal amounts of short-ranged and long-ranged Huntsmen and Huntresses. This allows the team to be covered in all areas of a battlefield which eliminates the threat factor.

It was pretty short, but their teacher didn't care about the length. As long as it answered his question, he didn't care. He liked Nora's approach. It was the standpoint of a warrior which he respected greatly. Up next was Mercury, Cardin, Russell, Velvet, and then Adam.

...

Huntsmen and Huntresses are born with a special skill that can't be described. If you want a strong team, it must have 4 strong killers. If this skill isn't met, then they won't have the courage or ability to complete their job to the letter.

To him, Adam has always been an interesting student of his and this response definitely proved that he was different. Ren was next.

...

Personally, I found this question quite quizzical. The reason why the current teams in the world are still out there now is because they're special. Each one of their skills has to be examined carefully and thought out to be put into a team. Their skills have to be exceptional, but also, proportional to the rest of the team. Each person has to be able to understand their skills and compensate for when something isn't met.

He was impressed. It was a scattered idea, but he was able to piece together Ren's idea. This was a very technical, yet thoughtful approach. Out of all of his years of teaching this class, not many have given him this response so he was impressed. Up next was Sun.

...

Teams should be with people you're close with. That personal connection with others they know will make it easier to work as a team. Yes, it's important for everyone to be skilled as a fighter, but not having to worry about what others are doing will make it easier to succeed.

This was a very human-like take on the situation. Next, was Yang.

...

Personally, I don't think a team should have family members. The possibility that one could lose them on the battlefield is devastating. The skills of the team members have to be equal, but if there is a skill gap, it should be slight. Also, everyone on the team should always be caring for one another. Above all, this is the most important part about being on a team. Having everyone in mind can strengthen their bonds and their fighting ability.

Again, Yang took a very honest approach. This answer is a typical answer he reads nearly every year. However, this is an important part of the real world. Every team out there right now has this characteristic. He put Yang's paper down with a smile on his face and moved on to Pyrrha's paper.

...

Teams are a very important part of a Huntsmen or Huntress' life. It's members have to close to each other to be able to understand how everyone fights. Even though there are those who are weaker in skill, the team has to be able to work together and cover up their flaws to be perfect to the average eye. Eventually, the team will learn new things from each other and become stronger as a team and as people.

He wasn't surprised. Pyrrha took a broad approach to this paper. Although it was typical, he enjoyed reading it because this really matched Pyrrha's personality. She always showed determination and willingness to learn so he wasn't disappointed in an average looking response. Ruby's response was next.

...

Through my days of personal experience, I think I finally know the real structure of a team. A team should be made up of completely different people. They could be skilled, unskilled, outgoing, or shy; it doesn't matter. The concept of a team is suppose to bring people together and shape them into something they never knew existed. Their mentality should be to inspire others around them and to learn new things ever day; both from each other and the world around them. These qualities will create the ideal team that can change the world.

As he came to the end, he stared at the last sentence for a couple of minutes in thought. The idea of divided and conquer definitely showed up in her response. It also shows that Ruby is willing to work with anyone and accept the reality of its result. He put down her paper and clenched his hands together. This response was by far the greatest thing he's read in a long time. It was honest, creative, and very mature. He picked it up and placed it in a stack of its own. Finally, the last paper was before him. Weiss was next.

...

My answer lies with being on Ruby's team.

He was confused. What kind of response was this? He put her paper in the completed stack on left the room. He made his way to Weiss' room and knocked on the door where Yang was there to answer.

"Hello Yang. Is Weiss here?"

"Sure. She's right over here."

"May I speak with her?"

"Of course." Yang called Weiss over to the door and she walked out with their teacher.

"Is something wrong?"

"Not exactly. I read your response and I was kind of befuddled. What drove you to write what you did? I know you're better than that. Why?" Weiss sighed.

"I don't know. I just feel that I've lost my way and my answer lies in my response. The only way I can return to the path I've been set on is to be on Ruby's team. I know it seems weird for me to say this, but I've been thinking lately and I truly believe this is the best way. I hope you're not mad. I just thought that you cared about the success of your students."

"I do. I just wanted to hear your rationale. That'll be all. Thank you for your time Ms. Schnee." He bowed and walked. Weiss walked back into her room where Yang was waiting.

"So what was that all about?"

"Oh nothing. Just something about our responses."

"Oh, so he's already read them? That's good. Did he like it?"

"That's one way to put it, yes."

The next day, he brought his class together for the last time of the year. This time, he was going to explain to them their final project. Like last time, they will be put into 3 teams of 4 and be put through a test to determine if they're ready for year 4 of this program. (A reminder: Year 4 is all about creating their own personal weapons. They are given an entire to create whatever they want from their own imagination, real-world weapons, and mechanical lessons)

"Alright, welcome back class for this will be the last time we meet in here as a class. Now, you all will be preparing for your final in 2 weeks. I hope you all remember how your 1st semester final went. First off, I'll announce the teams, but this time, I took multiple things into consideration so I should expect to see better results. Team 1 will be Adam, Velvet, Cardin, and Russell. Team 2 will be Mercury, Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora. Team 3 is Ruby, Weiss, Sun, and Yang. Your challenge is this: All 3 teams will be competing head-to-head to try and capture the flag. No weapons will be assigned and AI will be on the field. Your team must be the first one to reach the flag. This time, all it takes is one person to end the test. However, you won't know where your team will start, where the other teams will start, or where the flag is placed. There will be traps all across the map. Your goal is to navigate through the map, see through the traps and find the flag. One more thing, the map will be randomly generated so be prepared for anything. Good luck. Class dismissed."

He gathered his things and walked out in silence. Meanwhile, everyone else in the classroom had their jaws on the floor. Again, they were caught off guard. This time, though, there was more of a threat and more intelligence needed for such a task.

Ruby looked at Yang and smiled. She was with her sister yet again. On the other hand, Weiss was silent. Although her wish was granted, she was still timid to change her personality towards Ruby. Ruby looked at her in concern for she had her head in her arms on her desk. Yang walked over to Ruby and wrapped her arm around Ruby's neck.

"Man, we got lucky. We're on the same team again. However, I've already been with Weiss. I hope this won't be a problem." Trying to get out of Yang's chokehold, she looked at Weiss again.

"No, it won't be."

End of Chapter 10


	11. Vol 1 Chapter 11

Origin of a Hero

Chapter 11

Like last time, the battle room was open all day for the rest of the school year and each team used it to their advantage. However, they all kept in mind that there wasn't anything that was certain during their training. Week 1 was like anything else. It was mostly getting to know everyone on the team and how they feel about what was happening, but this time, it went much smoother for each team because most of them have already been paired up with each other.

Cardin, Russell, Velvet, and Adam's team wasn't much of a talker team. They mostly worked on their speed because they all agreed they were below the average speed of being considered fast. They weren't distant from each other, they just didn't connect as a team, but it definitely didn't show as they were training. They trained hard every time they used the battle room and always seemed to make progress during their practice sessions.

Mercury, Ren, Pyrrha, and Nora's team was all about communication. Whenever they practiced, no one wouldn't be talking. They always called out this they noticed for others to take notice and change course. As a team, they worked very well. They connected and pretty much knew everyone on their team, Mercury was the most distant out of the 4 of them, but he still contributed a lot to the group. As they trained more and more, they started to realize that Pyrrha was the fastest one on their team so they appointed her as leader to assure them their victory. They came up with an idea to go after the other teams while Pyrrha goes for the flag. This idea was thought up right from the start, but they decided to keep it. However, although they agreed with this plan, no one thought it was the right thing to do. The team focused on giving Pyrrha as much room as possible and spreading themselves out as to cover the most amount of ground possible.

Ruby, Weiss, Yang, and Sun's team was very close. Ruby has worked with Yang multiple times. Yang rooms with Weiss and Sun has a very open personality which made it really easy for everyone to understand each other.

"So what's the plan ladies?"

"Haha, good question. This challenge is definitely a tough one since we're actually going against real people."

"Seriously, we're gonna have to be smart about the way we train and the way we come up with a plan." The idea of coming up with a plan was constantly brought up, but no one was able to share anything with the group. They were completely stumped. Normal methods wouldn't work because their opponents would see right through them.

Ruby kept to her thoughts most of the time for she was thinking about what she had learned in class. Immediately after their 1st semester final, the teacher began to teach them battle techniques. This fascinated her to the point of actually paying attention in class. However, she occasionally looked around and everyone else was also paying attention so they all probably are thinking of one of his strategies right now. Finally, Ruby broke the silence.

"How about we just see how our movements are in comparison wiht everyone else's?" Since they were stumped by their battle plan, they stood up and followed Ruby's direction. Meanwhile, Weiss was paying close attention to Ruby and how she carried herself in a group situation. "So for starters, be the first one to make it to the far tree." They all lined up beside each other and readied for a race. Ruby looked down the line and saw that everyone was ready. "Ready... Go!"

Incredibly, they were all at the same pace. Fast. No one fell behind, but no one was able to get ahead of the other. It seemed like it was going to be a tie. Suddenly, Ruby started to slowly move ahead and in an instant, her body disappeared and a trail of rose petals was left behind. The other three continued to focus on the race, ignoring the fact that Ruby disappeared. When the tree started to become clearer to everyone, they saw a person standing beside the tree and they stopped immediately.

"Ruby? How did you beat us? You were just beside us when all of a sudden..."

"You know what, Weiss, I think Ruby just discovered her semblance."

"What's that," Ruby asked in confusion.

"You don't know that is? I could have sworn your mom taught you that."

"I don't know know what that is."

"Yeah, me either." Weiss and Sun's hands were both raised. Yang was shocked. How was she the only one who knew what semblance was?

"Well, it this thing that allows someone to have super powers." Everyone's eyes were wide open and their mouths were on the floor. "Yeah, everyone has one. It's just the act of finding it out for yourself."

"Have you found yours yet," Sun asked.

"Unfortunately not, but I hope it'll come soon."

"Now that you got me on this, I wanna know mine now."

"Don't worry, you'll find it eventually. Now, let's get back to work."

With the idea of semblance slowly retreating from their heads, they continued to practice. They worked on their speed, making sure that everyone was on the same page. After they mastered that, they worked on vision, making sure that everyone was watching the same thing. This was important because it allowed everyone to see things their own way and to see how others saw things. This was a small portion of their practice because that'll come in handy in the actual battle situation. As their two weeks came to an end, they wanted to work on one more thing: Trust.

"What's the point of working on trust?"

"It's makes everyone feel that everyone is doing their part and that they don't have to worry about someone else."

"But that's dumb thought, we all know what we're suppose to do. Why put the effort into making sure that we trust each other even though we do?"

"I agree with Ruby." Weiss finally spoke out. "She has a very clear point. If we don't have complete trust in each other, there will be a lingering sense of doubt in our hearts that will distract us from the task at hand. Yang looked at Weiss in surprise.

"Wow Weiss, well said. Come on guys, let's end this thing strong."

What they did was position one person in each corner of the map and told each person to make it to the center of the map in a certain amount of time. The purpose of this was to put one's focus on making it to the middle and forgetting about their teammates. To their surprise, it actually went pretty well. It took them a couple times to get it right, but they did, something inside them told them that that was the best they could do.

The last day of training came around and they decided to take the day off. Ruby decided to hang out with Sun since she didn't really know him that much which left Weiss and Yang alone together so they decided to stay in their room. Yang sitting on her bed, blasting out loud music from her headphones. Meanwhile, Weiss was sitting at her desk looking over her notes on the battle strategies their teacher gave them.

"This action prevents your team from progressing due to the fact that you put yourself in a situation where help is required. Stay away from unless it's honestly needed." She closed her notebook and ran her fingers through her hair.

"Weiss, you gotta calm down. Take a breather, a nap, something; just don't stress yourself out about this. I'm sure we'll be fine." Yang the next button on her music player and a peculiar song came on. "Ooo Weiss, come here. Listen to this."

"Yang, I don't want to..."

"No, no, no. No excuses." Yang got off her bed and pulled off her headphones and placed them over Weiss' ears. "Just listen." In the beginning, all that was playing was a bass drum doing a simple hit every beat, then a couple seconds later, the song started to play. It went through the verses and then came the chorus.

" Dry your eyes now baby

Broken wings won't hold you down

You'll take flight soon baby

You'll be lifted up and you'll be there."

Weiss pulled off the headphones and walked over to her bed. Once there, she dug her face into her pillow and didn't say a word.

"It wasn't meant to anger. I just wanted you to hear it. I'm sorry." She turned off her music player and sat back on her bed in silence. Weiss turned and faced the wall.

"No, it's fine. It's just that the lyrics were beautiful."

"I know. That's why I wanted you to listen to it."

Weiss whispered softly to herself, "Broken wings won't hold you down."

"Did you say something?"

"No, it's nothing."

"Hey, listen. I thought it was really great of you to agree with Ruby. I don't know what she's thinking, but I'm pretty sure it made her really happy that you approved of her idea. I means a lot to me too. Ruby's not very good at making friends so this is a big step for her and it seems like a big step for you too."

"Trust me Yang. I'm not doing this to make friends. Good night." She turned off the light and went to sleep.

Yang laid down on her bed and stared up at the ceiling. What is up with her? It seemed like not long ago she wanted to be accepted by others. Why is she so cold? I think she's lying. She turned her body to face Weiss who was still looking at the wall next to her. There's something she's still not telling me, but I'll figure it out eventually, but for now, I need to get some rest. She turned onto her back and started to close her eyes. Before she knocked out, she turned her head and looked at Weiss once more.

"I don't think that all Weiss. Good night."

Across the room, Weiss was still awake. She was thinking about what Yang told her. She was right, but why couldn't she be straight with Yang and herself. A tear fell from her eye.

"Come on Weiss, you said you were gonna change. Now is the time. Tomorrow is that chance. Don't you miss it," she whispered. Finally, the night grew silent and everyone was peacefully asleep, thinking about the day to come.

End of Chapter 11


	12. Vol 1 Chapter 12

Origin of a Hero

Chapter 12

Alarm clocks from all across the school went off at the same time and everyone in class 3-A jumped out of bed as fast as they could. The showered, got dressed, and had some breakfast in record time. Their teacher asked for his class to meet at the battle room at 8 o'clock sharp and that's exactly what they did. Once there, they stood silently in front of their teacher as her inspected the group.

"Hm, it appears that everyone is here right on time. Very good. Now, you all know that today is a very important day. It's your final. Please remember that most of the evaluation will be based on individual analysis, but we will consider team contribution. Like before, 3rd school principal, 4th school principal, and myself will be overseeing this test. No need to be nervous. Any questions before we start?" He looked around the group, but they were all avoiding eye contact with him. As he was about to separate them into their teams, Ruby raised her hand. "Ah yes, Ms. Rose."

"Um, are there any new things we should be aware of like last time?"

"Good question. Everything I told you before is still in effect and nothing new has been added. There are traps and one similar goal that you all are striving for. Now, is everyone ready?" No one responded. Team 1 will be in this room. Team 2 will be right next to them and Team 3 will be the last door. Good luck." They all walked into their respective waiting rooms as scared as ever. The door slowly closed and it was time to get serious.

Ruby looked around the room and examined each of her members faces. They were all nervous and so was she. How could she not be? If she didn't do well, her dreams of becoming a Huntress go right down the drain.

"So how are you guys feeling?"

"I'm trying not to think about it, to be honest."

"Yeah, Sun's got a good point. I know we're all nervous, but try not to let it get the best of you. We all worked really hard during our training session so nothing should be worrying us. How about you Weiss?" She was silent for a second.

"I think we'll be fine," she said slowly. Suddenly, a timer from above the enter door lit up with the number slowly made its way down. By now, the hearts of everyone, not just Ruby's team, were going crazy. No one knew what to expect, no one knew what was going to happen. The only thing they could do was find the flag. 3... 2... 1... Begin. The alarm sounded and the door swung open. They ran out of the room and was introduced to a arctic-like biome.

To their surprise, it wasn't as cold as they were expecting it to be. The scanned the entire place, but couldn't find the flag anywhere in plain sight. Also, they checked for their classmates, but no one could be seen.

"Alright, anybody got a plan?"

"I think it would be best to stay as a team. This way, we'll be efficient if we do end up finding the flag. If we split up and one of us is stopped by our classmates, we won't know."

"Good idea Weiss." Ruby smiled at Weiss and she looked away, but with a blush on her face. For some reason, it made Weiss feel good to have the approval of Ruby.

"Let's head out. We need to find the flag and quickly."

They trudged along slowly and silently to avoid any unwanted attention. Meanwhile, across the map was Nora's team. They were approaching a clearing when suddenly the ice gave way and collapsed. Nora was in front and started to fall with the snow, but Ren was quick on his feet and grabbed her hand to pull her towards him. They fell to the floor while Pyrrha and Mercury looked down the ravine.

"So that's what they mean by traps, I'm guessing?"

"Yep. We need to find a way around, but also, make sure no one is trying to sneak up on us." Ren and Nora were still on the ground; Nora on top of Ren staring into his eyes.

"Thank you," she said with red cheeks. Ren pushed her off and looked away.

"What was I suppose to do? We're teammates, I can't let you fall like that." Nora's face lit up and she clung to his arm. He looked down at her and she had the happiest face he's ever seen. He sighed and they continued on their way.

Not far from them, Cardin's team devised a plan to split up and cover the most ground. They also agreed to slow down anybody they saw who wasn't on their team.

Up above at the press box, the three teachers were overseeing everything. They had a perfect view of the entire field and had displays on the side that focused on a certain student. Their teacher was glued to the displays. He was constantly switching his attention between people. On the other hand, the principals of 3rd and 4th school were just enjoying the moment for they noticed something interesting was about to happen.

Adam had made his way onto a steep mountain with a small ledge to cling to. He was stalking Nora's team for they were right below him. As he inched along, his hands touched something peculiar. It was a wire. Because of the light, he couldn't tell where it led to, but he was determined to use it no matter what. He pulled on it as hard as he could and specks of snow started to fall from the mountain. He looked up and realized that this trap was an avalanche trigger. He inched back the other way, but was caught up in the impact. Mercury looked up and saw that snow was heading right for them.

"Move!" He grabbed his teammates and pushed them out of the way. Thankfully, his strength was able to safely get them away from the avalanche. Unfortunately, he was engulfed by the snow and they couldn't get to him. Pyrrha grabbed Ren and Nora's wrist.

"We need to go. We're losing time."

In the press box, the 3rd school principal was impressed. A boy of this age willing to take a hit for his team. It was quite impressive. Their teacher was still on edge, observing every little detail that showed up on the displays. Meanwhile, the 4th school principal focused on one particular display. It was Velvet. She was following Ruby's team. It also appeared that Ruby was heading the right way for the path she was taking appeared to get brighter and bright as they continued. Ruby's team made their way over a small hill and in the far distance, they spotted a small light.

"Hey, what's that?" Everyone narrowed their eyes to try and see what it was. Because of their optimism, they said it was the flag. Then suddenly, Yang heard footsteps from behind. She turned to see Velvet running head first towards them.

"You guys go. I'll handle her."

"What do you mean?"

"All we need it one person to make it to the flag. Don't worry about me." She bid the group farewell and left.

"Yang!" Ruby tried running after her, but Weiss stopped her before she could.

"Ruby, we have to get to that flag, being as it is the flag." Ruby continued to look at Yang as she disappeared into the blackness of the scene.

"Fine." She turned back around and started to run towards the light. Nora's team made their way up a mountain to try and get a better view of the place. From above, they were able to Ruby's team running toward a light. They were surprised that the visibility this high was so good.

"Look, there it is. Let's go." Pyrrha grabbed her Nora's arm.

"It's too late. Look." Nora took another look and saw that Cardin and Russell were closing in on Ruby's location.

"What should we do?"

"We could try to make it down there, but there's no way we'll get the flag before one of those teams does."

"Then let's just enjoy the view. We did a good job." They took a seat and continued to watch this scene laid out in front of them. Then, rustling was coming from behind them so they turned to see that it was Mercury making his way back to his team.

"You made it."

"Yeah, thanks for leaving me."

"Well, we had to find the flag."

"And why are you just sitting here?"

"Because of that." He walked to the edge to see Ruby's team running towards a light and Cardin and Russell running towards Ruby.

"Ah, got it." He took a seat and laid down. "Well, that was exhausting."

Finally, the displays were only focused on Ruby's and Cardin's remaining team. For the teachers, this was getting interesting. Ruby's team had the advantage because they knew where the flag was and still have 3 people. Cardin only has Russell and he has no idea why Ruby's team is running towards them. As they watched, they could see that Cardin tells Russell to go around and attack from the side. He splits off and disappears.

Meanwhile, Ruby's team was nearing the light and they finally were able to conclude that that was the flag.

"We're almost there," Ruby yelled. Then out of nowhere, Sun was tackled to the ground and fell behind. "Sun!"

"Just go. I'll hold this guy here." Russell tried to get up and run after Ruby and Weiss, but Sun was holding him down. Now, it was just Ruby and Weiss against Cardin. Unfortunately, Cardin was a big guy and Ruby and Weiss were quite small.

As Cardin drew closer, he noticed the light and changed course. By now, Ruby and Weiss were still a distance away while Cardin was half the distance from the flag. Running as fast as they could, it became a straightaway to the flag, but when they clearly saw the flag in sight, Cardin appeared out of nowhere and was about to reach for the flag. Ruby was shocked. She couldn't believe that someone else had beaten them there. She closed her eyes and tightened her fists and before she knew it, her incredible speed brought her to the flag and she tackled Cardin to the ground.

"Weiss, hurry!" Weiss saw Ruby on the ground and tried her best to run as fast she could. Meanwhile, Cardin threw Ruby off and she a pile of snow behind. She lost focus for a split second, but when she came to, she saw Cardin reaching for the flag again. Again, she jumped at him, but this time, she went for a chokehold. This caused him to step backwards away from the flag. Ruby check up on Weiss' progress and she was definitely getting close. As Ruby squeezed tighter, he started to lose his balance and fell on his back, crushing Ruby in the process. This caused the wind to get knocked out of her. When Cardin finally came to, he turned to check on Ruby and she wasn't getting up. He, once again, made his way to the flag. As Weiss drew even closer, she saw that Cardin was close. She tightened her fists and ran as hard as she could.

While still on the ground, Ruby looked up to see Cardin finally reaching for the flag. She got up slowly with her hand over her stomach. Her vision was impaired and she still was a bit queasy from that hard hit to the ground. She walked closer to Cardin, but couldn't do anymore. Her legs gave out and she collapsed, but before she hit the floor, he legs came out from under her and swiped at Cardin's feet. To her surprise, the force of her kick was enough to bring him to the ground once again. By now, Ruby was spent. Cardin, on the other hand, wasn't giving up. He wanted that flag. He reached as far as he could while on the ground, but it seemed the flag was a mile away. He stretched and stretched until finally the flag was taken from its stand. He looked up to Weiss diving at the flag.

The alarm sounded and the test was over. Ruby's team had won.

"Nnnooo! It's all your fault. You got in my way," Cardin yelled, pointing at Ruby who was unconscious on the ground. Weiss dropped the flag and kneeled down next to Ruby.

"Ruby, are you okay?"

Weakly, "I think so. I just need to breathe. I'll be fine." Weiss grabbed Ruby's hand.

"We couldn't have done it without you." Ruby smiled. Weiss was actually being sincere. She could tell from her face that she meant every word.

"Ruby!" Weiss looked up to see Yang and Sun make their way to them. "Is she alright? What happened?"

"She allowed us to win is what happened." Yang looked down at Ruby and sighed.

"You gotta stop being so reckless Ruby." Yang pulled Ruby off the floor and carried her in her arms. "Well, good job guys. I can't really say it was pretty, but we got it done."

"Couldn't have said it better myself." Then, the intercom came on.

"Attention students, please make your way to the auditorium. Again, please make your way to the auditorium." Everyone gathered themselves and made their way to the auditorium. Yang carried Ruby the entire way there until the made it to the doors of the auditorium where their teacher was waiting.

"Very good job. All of you. I couldn't be more happy with the results. Congratulations." He opened the door and tons of people were crowding the aisles screaming and cheering.

"Who are all these people?"

"You'll find out." The students walked into the auditorium and one by one, they started to realize that they were their parents. Why they were there, it didn't matter, they were here. Ruby continued to walked down the aisle, but she didn't she her mom. She was starting to get sad. As everyone else reunited with their families, Ruby was one of the last ones, then suddenly, she heard a familiar voice.

"Ruby?" She looked up and it was her mom. A tear fell from her eye and she ran towards her and jumped into her arms.

"I've missed you so much mommy."

"Me too. You've been all I've thought about this past year. How are you? You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Her mom wiped the tear off her face and she smiled. "So what's all this about?"

"I don't know. They just called me up and I came, but I'm glad I did because I think something important is going to happen." The 4th school principal took to the stage and cleared his throat into the mic.

"Well, I hope you're all enjoying yourselves. If I can have all of the students come to the stage, that would be great." Everyone made their way to the stage and the parents took their seats. "Before we get started, I'd like to introduce myself. I am the principal of 4th School Academy and I'm proud to say that all of these students will be attending my school next year. For those of you who don't know, this will be a big step forward for these youngsters for next year, they will be creating their very own weapons to defend this world against the forces of evil. Now, I'll call our name and you'll step forward."

He went down the list and everyone's name was called. Even though Ruby wasn't surprised, Blake's name wasn't called. After everyone was called, they were free to do whatever they wanted. The only other announcement was that school began in 2 months so they had to report to the airship platform on that day. Immediately, Ruby ran back to her mother and hugged her as tight as she could.

"I'm so proud of you sweety. I bet you were phenomenal."

"Haha, eh." Ruby turned for she didn't want to reveal herself. When she did, she saw Weiss looking for her parents, but they weren't there. She looked down the aisles, but no one was there to greet her so she took a seat and looked at the floor. "I'll be right back." Ruby let go of her mom and walked over to Weiss. "Here. There's someone I want you to meet." Weiss looked up to see Ruby's hand open up to her.

"What?"

"Come here." Weiss looked back down.

"I'm fine." Ruby was insisting. She grabbed Weiss' hand and pulled her back to her mom.

"This is Weiss. She's one of my closest friends." Weiss looked at Ruby because this was obviously a lie, but her mom didn't know that.

"Oh, I'm glad. I was afraid that Ruby wouldn't have any friends. Hi, I'm Sapphire, Ruby's mom. It's very nice to meet you. Where are your parents?"

"I don't know, but they're not here." Sapphire heard the sadness in Weiss' voice and she knelt down in front of her and grabbed her shoulders.

"If you have no one here for you, I'd be more than glad to be that someone." Weiss looked at Sapphire. She had never seen a more genuine person in her life. Her aura was pure and her arms were open. "It's okay sweety. We'll always be here for you." Tears started to fall from her eyes and she leapt into Sapphire's arms.

"Thank you." As Sapphire held her, she knew this girl was troubled. She was trembling all over, not because she was hugging a stranger, but because she was afraid to return to her own family.

"We'll walk you out and maybe someone will be waiting for you." She grabbed Ruby and Weiss' hands and walked out. The entire walk, Weiss was looking at Sapphire's face as if she was staring at a real life princess. They made their way outside and the light from the sun drove Weiss to look away. When she did, she saw her father waiting by his car.

"Get in!" He said nothing more and got in the car.

"I believe that's your ride honey. Remember, if ever need anything, don't be afraid to ask." She nodded her head and walked slowly to her father's car. Before she got in, she looked back at Ruby and Sapphire one more time. She finally smiled and got in.

Ruby and Sapphire watched the white car drive off. They had mixed feelings. Ruby was sad to see her go when they were finally get close with each other. Sapphire had other things on her mind. Why was that girl like that? What drove Ruby to befriend such a sad being? Ruby appears fine. Why? These questions haunted her all summer. Even when Ruby packed up for 4th School Academy, the questions still remained. Why was she like that?

End of Volume I

**Ending Note: **I hope you guys enjoyed this volume. I'm not going to take any breaks and the next volume should come out soon. This definitely is the most different piece of writing I have done and honestly, it's my most favorite one to write. I hope you guys stick around for the next volume for I plan to write this more in depth about the characters and what they go through. Thank you so much for all the support. I can't express how much it means to me, but thank you again.


	13. Vol 2 Chapter 1

Origin of a Hero

Volume II Chapter 1

The summer couldn't last long enough for Ruby. It seemed as if she had just returned home from 3rd School Academy and now, she was about to embark on her new journey at 4th School Academy. She was super excited for this year because this year was all about building their very own weapon. No restrictions; as long as they're able to use it, they can keep it. The only bad thing was leaving her mother again, but this time will be her last. From here on out, the program completely secludes the students from society for unknown reasons. As the morning sped ahead, Ruby packed up her things and got in the car with her mother and drove to the air station to be taken away once again. Before Ruby got out of Sapphire's reach, she grabbed Ruby's wrist and pulled her aside.

"Ruby, I need to ask you a serious question and I need an honest answer. Why was that little girl so depressed?"

"Who? Weiss? She's not depressed. Why would you think that?"

"Never mind sweety, forget that I said that."

"Now boarding for 4th School Academy!" Ruby looked back and saw students beginning to board the aircraft.

"Okay mommy, I gotta go."

"Alright, let's just check everything here. I see you have your pin, your bags, and wait, something's missing." She poked Ruby on the cheek and Ruby smiled. "There it is." She hugged Ruby as tight as she could and kissed her on the cheek. "I don't need to say anything more. Everything I said last time is still relevant. You remember right?" Ruby nodded her head. "Alright, get out of here. I love you."

"I love you too," she yelled as she neared the aircraft.

Sapphire watched as the students slowly loaded onto the ship and were taken away. She tried her hardest to find Ruby inside the ship, but it was no good. That was probably the last time she would ever see her baby again. She turned around and headed to her car when she got a message on her scroll.

"Urgent message. Team meeting at the usual place. We've got trouble." She closed the scroll and left the scene in an instance.

On the way there, Ruby was sitting all by herself for Ren was sitting with Nora and Yang comes from a different location. All she could do was sit there and try to imagine what this year was going to be like. A few minutes passed and they had arrived. All of the students exited the aircraft and immediately looked up the hill for it was the 3rd school right above them.

"Yes students, you have now moved down a step to the 4th School Academy. I am your principal, Principal Port and this year will no doubt be the most fun you'll ever experience in one year." Everyone cheered. "Follow me."

He led the students into the auditorium where a short introduction took place, covering the important aspects of this upcoming year. They would have occasional lectures, tons of workshop time, and possibly some demos. After that part was over, the faculty assigned rooms and everyone ran to find out what their room was like.

Ruby made it to her room first so she was able to claim pretty much anything she wanted. The room was much bigger than the previous school room. Near the front of the room, there was a bathroom that could only be used by her room which was awesome. Her room, especially, had a wonderful view of the campus. She backed up and plopped herself onto the bed. This couldn't get any better, she thought.

Knock, knock. Ruby turned her head towards the door for her roommate was about the come through the door and the memories would begin.

"Ruby!"

"Yang?" Yang ran over to Ruby, picked her up, and spun her around until they both got nauseous.

"Ah man, I'm so excited to share a room with you this year. How was your summer?"

"It was alright. It felt like it went by super fast. How was yours?"

"It was good. I mostly just laid around the house all day. Honestly, it felt very productive."

"I bet."

The rest of that day was a pretty boring one. They didn't ask for the students anymore and nothing exciting happened later that day so they all just stayed in their rooms until the next day where they would receive their first instructions on creating their weapon.

Night passed fairly quickly for everyone. They all rose pretty early and met up at the conference room where they would have their first lecture. In took a couple of minutes, but their teacher finally made it to the room and the lecture had begun.

"Welcome students to the 4th School Academy. I will be the one who educates you all on what is the most suitable weapon for you. I'm gonna skip all the formalities and go straight into the core of what this year is gonna focus on. As you all know, a Huntsmen and Huntress would be nothing without their weapon. These weapons define who you are and what things you are capable of. For starters, let's start with the most basic of weapons: The shield." He pulled out a shield that was circular in shape and had a copper-like color. "For those of you who think you can master wielding a shield, you've got your work cut out for you. The shield represents protection. It protects both you and the people you care about. It's also a heavy burden because carrying a shield into battle means that you are fighting for someone or a cause worth fighting for." Pyrrha raised her hand.

"Does the shape of the shield matter?"

"Ah, good question Ms. Nikos. The shape has a lot of significance. For example, large squarish shields are more for upfront protection. Circle shaped shields are more for maneuverability. It's all up to you like a said. Any other questions?" Ruby raised her hand.

"Is the shield a widely used weapon?"

"Wow, another good question. Not as much as it should be. In today's society, the shield is more seen as wasted weight. People don't understand the true significance of this prized weapon. It could mean the difference between life and death. Anything else?" The room was silent and no one else spoke up. "Alright, let's move on to everyone's favorite weapon: The sword." He set down the shield and pulled out a sword. The sword itself was long. The shape was like a cross and had a black hilt. "In most cultures, the sword symbolizes purification which is why so many Huntsmen and Huntresses use this kind of weapon. Our job is to cleanse the world of evil meaning the creatures of Grimm. Sword are made many different ways. I don't think there's a sword in the world that is closely related to another." Weiss raised her hand. "Yes, Ms. Schnee." Ruby turned around to see Weiss sitting not too far away. She smiled and waved at her, but Weiss was too focused on her question to pay attention to Ruby.

"Does weight have any significance?"

"Why yes it does? Lightweight swords are used for speed and precision fighting. Lightweight swords allow its user to move around with ease, but also giving them the advantage having more control of their weapon. Heavy swords are all about power. The heavier, the stronger. Yes, this decreases the user's speed, but for those who trust their swordsmanship enough, this isn't a problem. Any other questions? Alright, and now, the last one. I'm not going into specifics for there are way too many weapons to cover in this amount of time. Lastly, we have the gun." He put the sword down and pulled out an assault rifle. "Now, same as before, there are too many guns out there to show, but each one has a purpose. Society has put many titles on guns, but personally, I think guns symbolize freedom and power. This is another popular weapon that used in the world. However, every Huntsmen and Huntress out there only uses their gun for purification and justice. Not once will they pull it out for childish reasons. Remember that. Well, that's all I have for today. I hope this was informative and that you all have some idea of what you want to work with for the rest of your life. We'll discuss more another day. Class dismissed."

That was it for everyone. They grabbed some food and returned to their rooms. Everybody was deep in thought because deciding a good weapon was key. The things their teacher talked about were very informative. He gave them knowledge of why people use those weapons. Even though he opened their eyes to different thing, it was still going to be a difficult choice for everyone.

"So Ruby, do you have an idea of what you're gonna pick?"

"I don't know. He told us so much and there are so many different choices out there. It's gonna take me a while until I know for sure. What about you?"

"I think I'm gonna go for a gun."

"Really? Why?"

"I don't know. Something about it just screams out, 'Yang!' You know what I mean?" Ruby shook her head.

"No, I don't know."

"It's alright. You'll understand when that weapon catches your eye."

Inside their rooms, they're provided a computer to do some studying and Ruby decided to do some researching on all the weapons in the world. Everything from knifes to snipers were thrown at her and she was way too flustered to even try to pick a handful of things she liked. Yang came up behind her and browsed through all the choices with Ruby. Occasionally, she would point at things and say she liked them, but everything Yang pointed at, Ruby hated more than anything. Ruby stayed on the computer for a good 3 hours, trying to find something that screamed out her name, but it was no use. She groaned and slammed her head on the table.

"Ruby, chill out. You don't need to have an idea just yet. The year just started. This whole year id devoted to us finding something and building it ourselves. You've got time, trust me."

"Uh, fine." She got up and shrugged back to her bed where she buried her face into her pillow. While her face was stuffed, she screamed as loud as she could, but it only was heard as a muffle from Yang's perspective.

"You'll be fine Ruby. I'm sure everybody else doesn't even have a choice yet either." Ruby turned her head and eyed Yang.

"You'd better be right."

End of Chapter 1


	14. Vol 2 Chapter 2

Origin of a Hero

Vol. 2 Chapter 2

Weeks went by and the topic of choosing a weapon was starting to run through everyone's minds. No one truly had an idea of what they wanted to work with, but they were getting a feel for what they could use. Day by day, students would approach teachers that specialized in a certain area of weaponry. There was the close combat teachers, long range teachers, and the hybrid teachers. Many of the students went to the long range teachers. It seemed it was a generation thing.

On the other hand, Ruby was stumped. She still had no idea what to pick. Whenever she thought about going short range, her mind would tell her the opposite and vice versa. It was getting too challenging for her to pick a weapon so she decided to wait it out as long as possible and just go off of what she experiences through this year and how other kids choose theirs.

The class that Ruby benefitted from the most, weapons of the world, met every Monday and Thursday. Here was where she did a lot of thinking. This class provided her with the knowledge she needed to help her choose the right weapon. Unfortunately, with the introduction oall the new weapons, it only made it harder for her to choose.

Out of all the students, there was only one who had an idea of her weapon selection and it was Pyrrha. It only took her about a week to come up with her ideal choice. First, she emphasized that she wanted a shield which was a wise choice in the eyes of most of the teachers. Lastly, she described a weapon that was agile, adaptable, and fitting to her liking. Once the teachers wrote everything down, it took them a couple days to get back to her, but they also asked for her to draw up a rough blueprint of her thoughts.

After a couple of days, she returned to them with an idea in hand. It was a spear that had a gun on the back of it allowing her to fight both close and long range. Similarly, the teacher showed her his idea of a sword that could transform into a normal gun. She was stunned. She didn't such transformations could happen and neither did anyone else. With these two ideas brought together, the teacher decides to take in Pyrrha as his personal student to help her develop her own weapon. After this happened, the wave of students bringing their ideas to teachers increased exponentially. Even Yang brought her idea up.

Unfortunately, Ruby was still stumped. As the days went on, Yang would become more docile because she spent most of her time with her instructor on how to create her weapon. And to make matters worse, the head instructor informed all the students that an idea had to be submitted by the end of the week, which was Friday. It was Thursday morning and Ruby freaked out. She turned on her computer and pulled up every site she knew of to help her pick. Her eyes flurried around the screen to find something, but nothing caught her attention. Then suddenly, a knock came from her door and she walked over to open it. At the door stood two giant men in suits.

"Good morning. Are you Ms. Ruby Rose?"

"Yes," she said timidly.

"We have received this letter for you. Our deepest condolences." They handed her the note and left. At first, she was confused, but she took the letter without question and closed the door. She walked back to her desk and opened up the letter.

_Dear Ruby,_

_I'm writing this letter to you for this might be my last. My team has been called by the world council to plan an attack on a swarm of Grimm creatures that are projected to hit Vacuo in a week's time. I know that I won't be able to see you anymore so I wanted to write this to you as my final words. You are my love, you are my life. Nothing will ever change that. When you feel alone or scared, just touch your heart and it'll remind you of me for I am always with you, even in death. I'm saddened to not be able to see your success as a Huntress, but I know you'll be great. Your dreams know no limitations and this determination of yours will change the world. I love you so much my darling. Try to forget me. I know this will be hard, but you need to make a new future and that requires you to forget the past. Do this and nothing can stop you. I love you and I'll miss you dearly._

_With hugs and kisses,_

_Sapphire Rose and your mommy_

Her eyes glanced over the final words and she was confused. What does this mean? Why do I have this? She ran out of her room and to the principal's office. She barged right in and demanded answers.

"What is this? Why did you give me this?" Everybody working in the office were scared. They all knew what it was, but were too afraid to tell Ruby. "Please, I need to know." The principal walked out of his office and walked over to Ruby and kneeled before her.

"Ruby, your mom wrote this to you as her last words."

"But what does that mean," she asked as her eyes started to tear up. The principal sighed and looked her in the eye.

"There's no easy way to put this. Ruby, your mother is dead." The room was silent. Movement and noise were put to a halt and it seemed like the world itself was frozen in time.

"D... Dead?"

"I'm sorry. Her and her team did everything they could, but they couldn't make it back with their lives'. My deepest condolences go to you." She crunched up the letter and left with tears falling from her face.

When she got back to her room, she slammed the door shut and rammed her head into her desk. Her cries and shouts could be heard from across the entire school. No one was there to comfort her. She was now alone.

"WHY?!" She brought her head up and placed it in between her two hands that ran its fingers through her hair. Her breathing was heavy and the tears kept coming. She couldn't believe this was happening to her and at such a troubling time for her. Now how was she supposed to pick a weapon? Her eyes fell to the floor as she slowly started to calm down. She tried to turn off her computer, but noticed something interesting on the page she left on. A scythe. What was that? She set aside that page and researched everything to do with scythes. The results were very spread out, but there were a couple of things that caught her attention. They were used as farming tools, the Grim Reaper carries it, and it's referred to as the "harvester of souls." She pondered this idea all night until she fell asleep on her desk. When morning came around, Yang woke Ruby up from her uncomfortable night of sleep.

"Hey Ruby, wake up. Today's the day. You ready?" the sound of Yang's voice immediately woke her up. She sat up, pulled out a piece of paper, and drew her blueprint. Once she was done, she grabbed her backpack and left the room to find an available teacher. As she zoomed through the hallways, she ended up running into a teacher that appeared to be available.

"Hi, I'm Ruby. I have an idea on my weapon."

"Alright, let's check this sucker out." He set down his things and grabbed Ruby's paper and examined.

"It's a scythe."

"I can see that. Any particular reason you want this as your weapon?"

"Well, I was reading about it and something about "harvester of souls" caught my attention. I know it may sound dark, but I saw this as a weapon that could help the innocent in their times of need." As he listened to Ruby's theory, he became intrigued. He pulled out a pen and started to make some adjustments. "Wait, what are you doing? That's mine." She grabbed her paper right as he finished adding some things to her picture.

"How about that? At the tip of the scythe lies a sniper. In modern day combat, the sniper symbolizes protection and acts as a guardian. At first, Ruby could spit at the idea, but once he was done explaining it to her. She was sold.

"Wow, that's cool. Is this possible?"

"Of course, and I know the perfect person to help you with this incredible project." He grabbed her paper and wrote down a name and room number and told her to go there immediately. Without question, Ruby took her paper back once again and ran to that room.

When she got there, she looked up at the room number to check and see if it was the right one and it was. Under the room number, it showed the name that was on her paper. She slowly reached for the doorknob and opened it as slow as she could. Her head peeked out from behind the door.

"Um, hello? Mr. Qrow." From a behind a giant chair came a response.

"That's Uncle Qrow to you." He spun his chair around to look at Ruby. "Wow, you've gotten so big." Ruby was confused.

"Um, do I know you?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm Sapphire's brother, Qrow. You probably don't recognize me, but I used to babysit you all the time when you're mother was away." He paused for a second. "I'm sorry about your loss. She was a great sister and an even more amazing mother. You are one lucky girl."

"Yeah," she said as her head fell to the floor.

"Anyway, what brings you to my office this fine day?" out of nowhere, Ruby's face lit back up to its normal radiant glow.

"I finally have an idea of what I want to use as my weapon."

"Fantastic, let's have a look." He grabbed the paper and examined it carefully. Immediately, he was taken by surprise. "You came up with this idea?"

"Well, a teacher did the gun part, but I decided on using a scythe. Why? Do you not like it?" He put his hand over his mouth.

"Do you have a reason for choosing this particular weapon?"

"I didn't tell the other teacher this, but I thought it could help me stay strong through life and especially losing my mom, I thought it was a good idea." As he stared at her paper, a tear fell from his eye.

"That's incredible Ruby, you know that. Here, take a look at this." He stood up and walked over to his closet where he pulled out a scythe. Ruby's eyes shot open and was immediately captivated by what she was looking at.

"You have a scythe?"

"Yep, and you wanna know a secret?" She nodded her head. "I actually chose this weapon for the same reason you're choosing it for. I lost my wife a while back and immediately after her death, I decided to change my weapon to a scythe. It was to remind me that she was always with me, even in death and that I would protect those who were in danger. "I'm really proud of you Ruby."

"Thank you." He smiled at her and wiped off his tears.

"So that teacher sent you here?" She nodded. "I need to thank him later. Do you know his name?" She shook her head. "Do you remember what he looked like?"

"Um, he was kind of tall, older looking, and had a cane I think. I don't know, I didn't really pay attention."

"It's alright, I think I know who it was. Anyway, you wanna start building this baby?"

"Yeah, of course." Her face was bright as the sun and her smile could brighten anybody's day. Qrow closed the door and started to plan out the details of Ruby's first weapon.

End of Chapter 2


	15. Vol 2 Chapter 3

Origin of a Hero

Chapter 3

As the semester finally kicked into high gear, everyone was busy with their teachers and instructors, desperately trying to find the perfect weapon for themselves. Their goals were to take their times to develop the ideal weapon. Unfortunately being halfway through the semester, they don't have that kind of time. The principal of 4th School Academy announced that their final would be to have the final outcome of their weapons to present so this added extra pressure on both the students and the teachers.

Compared to other years, this class of students seemed far more willing to complete this task. Their urgency and anticipation showed the teachers that they were willing to do whatever it took to make sure that everything was perfect.

Ruby was hard at work with Qrow, trying to make her scythe idea become a useful and practical weapon. Her only struggles were that the weapon was big in general and her body size may hinder her abilities to use it effectively. However, she didn't give up. She told Qrow that she wanted this to be challenge and that no matter what, she was taking this weapon. This partial stumble got resolved quite quickly and they moved on to greater things.

Weiss had some troubles of her own. She ended up picking a sword. However, her teacher decided to go a rapier instead; a lighter, more agile weapon that fit Weiss more. Her only problem was that she was thinking that this weapon wasn't going to be good enough in the battlefield. She was worried that it wouldn't be able to stand up against the bigger, better weapons. As she pondered this idea further, her teacher told her that is was the perfect weapon for her. She would be quick and precise. These two things were constantly reminding Weiss that this was going to be her weapon until the end of time.

Yang was making quick progress. She decided to go with a gun that packed a punch, but allowed her to move freely and without lag. This was the challenge for her teacher. There wasn't really a gun out there with these kind of stats. Whenever Yang met up with her teacher, she would show him pictures of what she imagined, but he always told her that that was impossible. However, one day, she got lucky. Her teacher came in with the idea of using her arms as her gun. He drew up a bracelet looking thing that acted as a gun. He explained that it could be a gun and super lightweight. At first, she didn't like it. She had her mind so set on carrying a gun, but as his drawing became more and more intricate, Yang began to fall in love with the idea.

Getting a head start, Pyrrha and her teacher were hard at work creating her weapon. They had already begun on the building process. Her teacher began to work on constructing her gun and sword while he had Pyrrha make her shield. It took him a while to explain how to make a good shield, but in the end, she figured it out and came up with the perfect shape. She decided to make a small circular shape shield with the top and bottom of it slightly cut out because she wanted a place to shoot her gun safely and with cover. After the finer points of the crafting process, she used copper to make her shield. It wasn't too heavy, but it definitely was durable.

Nora, somehow, just came up with her idea pretty quickly. She told her teacher that she wanted something powerful that can fight both close and long range. Immediately, the idea to create a grenade launcher and hammer was born. Her teacher, especially, was an expert builder and explained to her exactly how her weapon would work. It's primary form would be as a gun, but through its transformation, a hilt would come out and the gun part would become the hammer. She was thrilled. However, he told her that this weapon would have to be grown into because each of the two forms was pretty big for her size, but she agreed to the idea anyway.

Ren's idea was one of the more down to earth ideas. He asked for a gun, but with a knife attachment to it. Easily, his teacher showed him a gun that had fangs that faced down from the mouth of the gun. It was simple, but everything he wanted. He agreed and quickly moved onto building his weapon. His teacher was responsible for the gun part while he made the knife part. It was pretty interesting what he did, even his teacher was surprised. It was a long sheet of metal that had a curvy shape. Once his teacher was done with his gun, he showed that his part of the weapon would hang from the gun and serve as a like brass knuckles in a way. His teacher was impressed and welded it on which made Ren's weapon the first to be created.

As more time went by, the teachers slowly started to step away from their students to allow them to complete the building process. It was a tedious one, but they were all determined to finish it up to their teacher's standards. However, Qrow stayed with Ruby the entire time. He wanted to make sure that her weapon was a success, not just because she was his niece, but because a scythe is considered one of the most deadliest weapons in existence. One little slip up would cause her to start over or maybe even get hurt.

Of course, Ruby took breaks often for she grew tired from the constant work she brought upon herself. Occasionally, she would bump into Yang and Ren and they would talk about how they were doing. Ren tried not to brag, but he told them that was finished with 3 weeks left in the semester. Yang was making the finishing touches to her weapon. Ruby was still working on the gun process. From each of their descriptions, no one really knew what the other weapons looked up. They just had to go off of what they imagined, but they all knew they were going to be really cool.

As the final weeks came along, Ruby and Qrow were reaching the final stages of her weapon. Her sniper part was complete and they were building the scythe. Ruby worked on the blade part while Qrow worked on the mechanisms. Once the completed each thing, they put brought the two pieces together.

"You know Ruby, you've done an amazing job with this. You haven't complained or anything. I've given a task to do and you've completed it to the letter. You even did most of the sniper yourself." She blushed. "You ready for this last part." She nodded her head. Right now, her weapon was in the holding position and she was wondering why it looked like that. "While you were working on the blade, I did something helpful for you. Press that button." She looked up at Qrow and then pressed the button. Out of nowhere, block of metal opened up and transformed into a sniper.

"Whoa, that was really cool."

"You like it?"

"I love it, but how I am I going to use the scythe if it does that."

"Did you make the blade exactly the way I told you?"

"Yeah," she said timidly.

"Then put that sucker right there," he said as he pointed to the part sticking out underneath the shaft of the sniper. There was a screw that allowed her to hook on the blade. She hooked it on and tightened it as much as she could.

"Is that good?"

"Perfect. You wanna pick it up?" She smiled and grabbed the scythe from its stand. At first, Ruby quickly lost her balance from the unknown weight distribution, but after a while, she got used to it and stood it upright.

"It's actually lighter than I thought it would be."

"That's because I changed the metal to Aluminum Carbonate. It's stronger and a third the weight of steel. Okay, now press that button again." She looked down and pressed the button.

Incredibly, the scythe curled up and attached itself to the body of the sniper and the entire weapon shrunk back into the block form it was originally. As she holding it, she felt no resistance at all. If she wasn't looking or listening, she couldn't have noticed that it changed forms.

"Now, if you wanted, you can carry it like a book or something." She stared at the weapon and started to cry. "Are you okay Ruby?" she dropped her weapon and jumped into Qrow's arms.

"Thank you. Thank you so much. It's everything I hoped it'd be."

"Come on. You did most of the work."

"But you believed in me and encouraged me. That's more than anybody could do for me." He brought her out of his arms and wiped her tears away.

"I'll always be here for you Ruby. Whenever you need me, I'll be there. That's the promise I made to your mother and I swear to never break it." This brought upon more tears and she jumped back into his arms. "It'll be alright Ruby. Oh yeah, are you gonna do anything special to your new weapon?"

"What do you mean?"

"Like paint it or give it a name." She left his arms and walked back to her weapon and picked it up off the ground.

"A name?"

"Eh, it's just a suggestion." She pressed the button and watched it transform into a scythe.

"Well, I think I'm gonna paint it red. After all, red was my mom's favorite color. It's also mine."

"I guess that's a Rose thing."

"Rose? Crescent Rose."

"What?"

"Crescent Rose, that'll be its name. the moon is sometimes in a crescent shape and a rose is the insignia she gave to me when I started this program."

"Very good, Ruby."

"Would you like me to help you?"

"No, I think I'm good." She closed Crescent Rose for the first time and left his room. "Bye Uncle Qrow."

"Bye. Be careful now." He watched her as she slowly left the room and smiled. She was finally starting to grow up.

The final days of the semester came around and everyone was making their final touches. They were all painting, cleaning, and hugging every chance they had. Everybody was so proud of what they've accomplished. They finally have a weapon to call their own. When the last day of the semester happened, the principal called the students to meet in the battle hall and everyone had to present their weapon, one after another.

As each new weapon was introduced, everyone was stunned, both at the fact that they were able to complete theirs and that some of the weapons were very creative and almost innovative. Yang showed off her weapon as she wore them like bracelets. When she activated them, they morphed into a gauntlet that covered her whole forearm. She explained that it was for both short and long range and that it was made out of Titanium with a yellow and black coating on the outside. The class oohed and aahed. Ren showed his weapon they way they were. Dual guns that had a fang on each of them with green covering the entire weapon. The crowd wasn't too impressed with his as they were with Yang's though. When Nora came up, everybody was shocked. She carried a pretty big grenade launcher that had pink shells on the inside and when she changed it into a hammer, everyone went nuts. They all stuck out their arms wanting to touch and hold it, but they couldn't. now, everybody was thinking of how that can't be beat. Even some of the teachers were surprised at the combined effort of student and teacher.

Weiss didn't do much. She just explained that her weapon was light, but made of Adamantine. Their faces were bored and only a few claps were given. After her, there was a large crowd of other students weapons that didn't really impress. When Weiss sat back down, Ruby looked down the row to see if she was alright. Like always, she had a sad, gloomy face on. For Ruby, she didn't know if it was her weapon or something family related that made her look so sad. She turned back towards the front to check out the next weapon.

Of course, Pyrrha did not disappoint. Finally, something that could top Nora's weapon, the crowd thought. She explained that it was a shield and sword, but to everyone's eyes, her weapon looked peculiar, and it did. She spun her sword around and it quickly turned into a gun. Whoas and wows could be heard throughout the entire room, but she wasn't done yet. She spun it around again and it turned into a spear. By now, everyone was speechless. The coordination of her and her teacher was phenomenal. She bowed and the teachers began to clap for her. All that was left was Ruby.

She kept Crescent Rose in its carrying form as she walked up to the front. When the principal asked to see her weapon, she transformed it into a huge, red sniper. She grabbed some of the audience's attention. Her sniper even had a kick out scope, but the fun was only just beginning. She swung Crescent Rose around her body and slammed it on the ground, revealing, to everyone, a huge scythe.

"That's so cool," yelled a random student in the back, but the longer she stood up there, the more compliments she got about how her weapon was so cool. She started to smile and looked at the ground. When she did look back up, she saw Qrow giving her a thumbs. Something as simple as a thumbs up never made her feel so good.

"Alright, that concludes the presentations. Now that you all have your very own weapon, you'll first need to become comfortable with it before you can take on combat, and that's what next semester will be about. You will study the strengths and weaknesses of your weapons and hopefully, learn to make it the most effective weapon on the battlefield. You are dismissed. Enjoy your 3 weeks off." They all stood up and headed for the door. Ruby made her way over to Weiss and pulled on her wrist.

"Weiss, are you okay?" Weiss violently pulled her hand back and stormed off.

"I'm fine." Ruby watched Weiss disappear into the crowd. She wanted to help Weiss, but everything about that girl told Ruby that she wanted to be left alone. As she continued to stare into the huge crowd, pushing and shoving occurred and Ruby ended up on the floor. When the crows finally dissipated, a hand reached down for her.

"I really liked your weapon. I'm actually kind of jealous." Ruby looked up and it was Yang. "Come on, let's get out of here." Yang smiled at Ruby and picked her up off the ground and the two made their way back to their room with Yang's arm around Ruby's neck the entire way there.

End of Chapter 3


	16. Vol 2 Chapter 4

Origin of a Hero

Vol. 2 Chapter 4

As their break came to start, everyone went crazy. They ran around the school with their weapons in hand and just went berserk. The teachers, however, didn't care. They knew that their students didn't really have an advanced knowledge about their weapons so they weren't concerned. Also, each teacher tampered with their students' weapons as to prohibit full usage of their weapons before the time required.

As their 3 weeks came to a start, everyone went crazy. Students were showing off their weapons left and right and everyone was getting a kick out of it. Surprisingly though, Ruby was very quiet about her weapon. Yeah, she was super proud that she completed it and for such a meaningful, but she didn't feel the urge to show it to other people. The only person she really showed it to was Yang, but that was because they shared the same room together.

For Ruby, her break was very boring. Her and Yang would occasionally do stuff together, but she always felt that something was missing. Part of her was missing Blake and that she constantly thought about why Blake didn't come to this school. The other part of her was wondering how Weiss was doing. She hasn't talked to her ever since the 3rd School graduation and whenever she sees her now, she's like a completely different person. It was difficult for Ruby. Aside from Yang, she was still trying to find the right friend and for some reason, she believed that Weiss was the one she was looking for.

Within the 4th School Academy grounds, there's a huge park in front of the school where the students and staff spend most of their time. Ruby goes out every day once a day to see if Weiss shows up, but she never does. However, one day when Ruby was sitting underneath a tree, Weiss appeared before her.

"Hi Ruby." She looked up to see Weiss. She immediately removed her headphones and stood up to greet her.

"H-Hi Weiss, would you like to join me?"

"Sure." She sat down beside Ruby. "So what are you doing?"

"Eh, just getting some fresh air. Enjoying the view. What about you?"

"I've been getting tired of sitting in my room all day so I decided to venture around and see what I'd find."

"Who's your roommate?"

"Pyrrha."

"Whoa, the super girl with the awesome weapon. Dang, you're lucky."

"Yeah, but she's never there."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, she's always with her teacher or paying attention to her weapon. She's not the kind of person I feel comfortable talking to."

"Hey, if you need someone to hear you out, I'm more than happy to listen." Weiss turned her head to look at Ruby and she was on her knees with eyes wide open.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm all ears," she said with a smile on her face. Weiss sighed and gave in.

"It's my father. The day he picked me up from 3rd School Academy wasn't a very happy one. He said that the school contacted him every so often saying that I wasn't showing the hope and talent that they saw in previous years I've been in this program. I told him that I was doing everything I could to be the best, but he didn't want to hear it. All he said to me was that he was disappointed. That and if I don't improve by the end of this year, I'll be removed from this program, permanently." Weiss dropped her head in sadness. Ruby didn't know what to say. She just couldn't believe that someone could so strict on something so voluntary.

"Weiss, if you need help, I'm always here to help."

"That's the problem. I don't want your help. I want to prove to my father that I can do this on my own. You wouldn't understand. You and your mother come from a much different background than my family does." Ruby put her hand on Weiss' lap and she looked at Ruby.

"That may be true, but everybody always need help every once in a while. The world is a tough place, Weiss. My mom knows from experience and it's our friends that can help us get through the roughest and toughest life throws at us. I'm not saying that you need my help. All I'm saying is that if you truly need it, I'll always be able to help." Ruby grabbed her things, stood up, and left.

Weiss was left sitting by herself underneath the tree. All she could do was sit and mope. Ruby was right, but she still had to do things on her own or else, how could she face her father with honest eyes. She sighed and looked around the park. As she did, she saw people everywhere with groups of people enjoying themselves. They were all laughing and having fun. She couldn't understand how everyone could be so slack when they were in the most demanding program in the world.

Ruby went back to her room where she pulled out Crescent Rose from her closet and embraced it. For some reason, now that her weapon is complete and that she's given it a name, it felt more like home and her mother. Yang came in a few minutes after her.

"Hey Rubes, what's up?"

"Uh nothing."

"Are you sure? It didn't sound like nothing."

"Well, it's Weiss."

"Oh yeah, she used to be my old roommate. What about her?"

"She's been troubled."

"Ruby, you can't let other people's troubles get the best of you. It's their job to overcome adversity and it's our job to support them."

"I know, but she doesn't want my help. She says that she has to do whatever she's doing alone." Yang walked over to Ruby's bed and sat down next to her.

"Just give it time. I'm sure she'll come around eventually. All you can do is make sure that you're there for her when she needs you. Until then, just lay back and try to enjoy yourself. I mean, you did make a pretty awesome weapon." Ruby smiled and laid on her bed and stared at the ceiling.

"So how do you like your weapon?"

"I love it. The best part is that I can carry it around with me at all times and not have to worry about it being in the way."

"I like the paint job you did for it. It really matches you."

"What? No way. I just thought yellow looked good. It's not like it's the same color as my hair or my favorite color or anything."

"Shut up."

The days went on and Ruby stuck to her normal every day plan of having breakfast, lunch, and dinner inside the cafeteria with Yang. Near the middle of the day, she would spend her time in front of the school, enjoying the sights of the park. Unfortunately, whenever she was out there, Weiss never showed up, except that one day. Ruby was hoping that by making it an everyday thing, Weiss would realize it and hang out with her, but it obviously didn't work. The more Ruby spent time in the park, the more she started to see what Weiss saw. The interaction of friends, all enjoying themselves. Although the park was a peaceful place, it never gave Ruby the sense of peace like it did when Weiss sat with her. The concern Sapphire had for Weiss has definitely trickled down to Ruby, not just because her mom said to care, but because Ruby thinks she can help her.

On the other hand, Weiss remained in her room. Most of the time, she would just stare at her weapon. In her head, she constantly thought that about her other possibilities. Compared to her classmates, she was the only one who didn't have a hybrid weapon. Everybody had a melee weapon and a gun attachment. She had just a sword. Whenever Pyrrha came into their room, she would always stare at her weapon and think about how smart of an idea that was to combine all aspects of fighting within one weapon. One day, Pyrrha decided to stay in her room for once which motivated Weiss to try and talk to her.

"Hey Pyrrha, I had a question."

"Sure, what's up?"

"Do you think it's weird to have a simple weapon in this day and age?"

"No, why? Are you not satisfied with your weapon?"

"No, it's not that. It's just that I've seen everybody with their weapons and everyone has guns and other things. I just feel that my weapon is in no way superior to theirs."

"You can't think like that, Weiss. Your weapon defines who you are. Just because everybody has hybrids doesn't mean they are superior to you. I mean, you could easily outshine everyone just by the way you can control your weapon."

"So you think my weapon is good?"

"Of course. When I came up with my weapon, the sword was the first thing that came to mind. I didn't think of the gun until like the very last second of my planning process." Weiss nodded her head.

"Okay. Thanks Pyrrha."

"No problem. If you ever want to talk, feel free. I know it seems like I'm busy, but I'm always available. No need to be distant. I am your roommate after all." Weiss smiled. That small conversation gave Weiss a lot more confidence than she had before. Even though they were roommates, Weiss never felt close to Pyrrha, but to her surprise, Pyrrha was a very easy person to talk to. She gave off an aura that was very welcoming and understanding. Day by day, Weiss slowly started to feel more comfortable with her weapon and she actually started to leave her room.

At the near end of their 3 week break, Ruby finally started to see Weiss hanging around the park. She didn't approach Weiss because she wanted her to know that she was available, not desperate to talk to her. As she sat alone in the park, Ruby constantly watched Weiss until she finally decided to sit with Ruby again.

"Hi Ruby, may I join you?"

"Of course."

End of Vol. 2 Chapter 4


	17. Vol 2 Chapter 5

Origin of a Hero

Vol. 2 Chapter 5

Near the end of their 3 week break, Ruby and Weiss slowly started to become closer as friends. Weiss started to open up to Ruby about her family and what she was going through and Ruby, of course, was open to anything Weiss wanted to talk about. However, the one topic Ruby stayed away from was her mother. She didn't want Weiss to know about her death because it would probably only bring sadness to her heart. The day Weiss was introduced to Sapphire was a very memorable day for Weiss and if she knew that Sapphire was no longer here, she would possibly shy away from the world like before so Ruby did everything she could to keep their conversations away from that.

Most of their conversations walked about the school and their weapons that they decided to use. Ruby constantly talked about Crescent Rose and how she couldn't be any happier. Weiss, on the other hand, was very timid on this topic. The idea of her weapon not being a hybrid still got to her sometimes. However, Ruby told her that that was her special feature. She explained to Weiss that not everyone had to be the same as everyone. Her being different made it easier to distinguish her amongst others. This was able to brighten up Weiss' spirits a little.

When the first day of the 2nd semester came around, the students were called into the auditorium for another meeting that they had no idea what it would be about. However, everyone stayed optimistic that they would be able to use their weapons more and more this semester. The principal got up on stage and began his speech.

"Welcome back students, I hope you enjoyed your 3 week break. Putting that aside, it's time to get serious. This semester, you will be working with both your weapon and your teacher to help you familiarize yourself with everything your weapon has to offer. Note that combat will not be a focus, but more of a sideline availability. Your focus will be to know everything about your weapon and what you can and cannot do with it. I trust that you all will discover something incredible about your weapon and yourself to help you strive down the path of a Huntsmen or Huntress. Thank you. You are dismissed." He stepped away and another teacher came up to the mic.

"Meetings with your teachers will begin to tomorrow so be ready to learn and study. Good luck." Everybody stood up and walked out. When they did, they saw a board outside the auditorium with lists of classes. Everybody gathered around the board to see what it was all about. The board read as follows,

"Students will meet with their teacher 5 times a week. 1 day, not including those 5 days, will be dedicated to these classes. Classes for designated as: Close-combat studies, long-range combat studies, hybrid weapon studies, and singular weapon studies. Make sure to attend one of these every week until the time of final preparations. There are no restrictions except for that you MUST attend a class that correlates to your weapon."

Immediately, Weiss was nervous. With this rule in play, she was only allowed to be in the close-combat studies class and the singular weapon studies class. This meant that she couldn't really be with anybody she knew. Who else in this school had a singular-use weapon? She looked around, but didn't see anybody who looked they would have one. She sighed and started to walked back to her room when Ruby grabbed her arm.

"Hey Weiss, do you know what you're going to take this week?"

"I don't know," she said with sadness.

"What's wrong?"

She sighed. "It's the whole singular weapon-use thing. I don't know anybody who uses one type of weapon like me. If I don't find anyone then I'll have to take that class by myself and I don't want to do that."

"Well, everyday is free to schedule so you wanna do the close-combat studies class with me?" Weiss' face lit up.

"Sure, what day do you wanna do it?"

"Mmm, I don't know. Do you have any ideas?"

"How about Wednesday? That gives us time to meet with our teachers, but also gives enough time to use their knowledge in the actual class."

"Good idea, let's do it." Ruby and Weiss walked back over to the board and wrote their names down for close-combat studies class on Wednesday. Surprisingly, they were the first people to write their names down for any day or class. As they walked off, Yang saw the two walking together and couldn't but smile. She was finally doing it.

As the first week of the second semester kicked off, everyone was hard at work with their teachers. Everywhere, students were learning about the history of their weapons, historical uses of their weapons, and innovative ways of using their weapons.

Ruby was with Qrow and his lessons constantly had Ruby's attention. He used his scythe as an example for Ruby and she was entranced. The things she learned were so interesting and they way he taught them were very creative. In the beginning, he showed her many different ways to maneuver around with a scythe. He explained to her that she had to be on her toes at all times because the power and size of a scythe could easily knock her off balance and cause her to lose concentration. One of the main things he told her to keep in mind of was making her body one with the scythe. He told her that is was impossible to actually control a scythe so in theory, he said to be the scythe. He showed her to jump, dive, and swing according to how the scythe moves.

"Do you sort of get it?"

"Yeah, I think so. So pretty much, let my weapon do the work and I'd just follow its command."

"That's precisely it, but the idea is simple; putting into actual work is the hard part. Becoming a scythe user always requires tremendous amounts of time and technique. No one can just do it. You understand, right?" She nodded her head. "Very good. Let's continue."

Meanwhile, Weiss was working with her teacher and surprisingly, she was very in sync with him. He emphasized the importance of a sword and its true meaning. He liked Weiss a lot because of the fact that she didn't choose to use a gun. He told her that guns were somewhat cowardly. Real Huntsmen and Huntresses should use their skill with a blade rather than a machine. His mentality really made it easier for Weiss to like her weapon even more. His weapon was a heavier sword than Weiss' so their skills were a little different. However, he told her that speed was a very key factor in battle.

"As long as you have the edge on your opponent, there's no way for them to win. You can hit them as many times as you want, but if they can't hit you, you've already won. Strength isn't always everything, Weiss, remember that. There are many factors that play into battle. It's your choice to decided which ones you will carry on your back."

He went on more and more about the sword. The main thing he said was that its user was in complete control. Whatever their will, the sword would do it. There were no restrictions on swords, as long as its user was able to think outside the box to defeat their enemy.

"So this can do anything?" Her teacher chuckled and walked over to her.

"Anything that this can create," he said while pointing at her head. "The mind is a world that we know not enough about. Use this weapon to unlock those secrets Weiss. Everyone was born to do something, don't you think?" She smiled and nodded her head.

When Wednesday hit, Ruby and Weiss ran to the classroom where their class was held and told each other everything they possibly could in the time they were allowed before class started.

"So how's it going with you Ruby?"

"Oh man, it's awesome. It's only been two days and I feel like I've learned so much about my weapon, and also, I love my teacher. What about you?"

"You pretty much said what I was gonna say. I never knew that a simple sword could do so much. I think I made the right decision."

"That's good. I'm happy that you like your choice." The clock struck 12 in the afternoon and Ruby and Weiss looked around the room. No one was there. It was just them. The teacher walked in as they spanned the room for any signs of life.

"I'm surprised there are people here today. It's still quite early to be attending study sessions, but I won't stop you. First, I need to get a sense of what weapons you ladies use." Ruby told him that she used a scythe and Weiss said she used a rapier. "Perfect, you met the requirements for this study session. Since it's just you two, it'll make my job a lot easier so let's get to work." He pulled a desk in front of theirs and made it like a group meeting. "So, what do you ladies know about your weapons so far?" Ruby decided to go first.

"Well, I use a scythe and I learned that I have to be very close with it."

"Precisely! A scythe is a very dangerous weapon that only the daring people use. Find success in using it and nothing will be able to stop you. What about you Ms. Schnee?"

"I use a rapier and my teacher said that I have the power to control everything about it."

"Very good. A rapier is a class of sword, but throughout history, the best of the best have called upon the resourcefulness of a sword. You have made a wise choice. Both of you, I'm surprised you've made these decisions. Now, let's get down to business. What do you know about the combat style of close-combat weapons?" They looked at each other and didn't say a word. "Alright then, I'll start from the very beginning. Swordplay is an art form that has a limited amount of combinations. The idea of getting into an ideal situation and striking your enemy with the finishing blow is in the minds of every fighter." Ruby raised her hand.

"What does that mean?"

"I'll put it in simpler terms. If you study hard, you can have the ability to learn what your enemy will do and use that knowledge to gain an edge in battle. Here, I'll show you. Come up here Ruby." She got out of her seat and stood in front of the teacher. "Alright, if I was attacking you right now, show me what you would do, slowly." Her teacher slowly started to run at Ruby and Ruby swung her right hand at his face. He stopped her hand right as it neared his face. "Alright, this is already a combination. Ruby saw me coming at her and she chose to attack. However, the enemy could easily avoid this blow by ducking and aiming for her legs. If this were to happen, what do you think you could do?"

"Jump out of the way?"

"Well, that's one idea, but in combat, you're goal is to defeat your enemy before they defeat you so what you could do is jump into the air and kick down. Now, there are many different possibilities, but I just wanted to show you some of things you can do. One thing that you should remember is this: The best close-combat fighters have the ability to end a fight in 4 moves no matter what their enemy does to them. Try to think about that. I'll leave this session on that note. I look forward to working with you girls again. Good luck." He grabbed his things and walked out. Ruby and Weiss were dumbfounded. It was possible to win in 4 moves, regardless of their enemies attack. They couldn't believe it. They slowly grabbed their things and walked out with a faces of bewilderment.

End of Chapter 5


	18. Hiatus

Hey my fellow readers, sorry about this, but this story will be on hiatus for a while. I got a lot of stuff going on right now and, it'll give me some time to think about where the story will go. I have basis as to where I'll finish this story, but the hard part is figuring out all of the in-between stuff. I hope you guys can be patient with me. I promise I'll get back to this story as soon as I can.


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